



mM§ 




Qass. 
Book. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



BY 



KATE V. SAINT MAUR 



WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS FROM 
PHOTOGRAPHS 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 
1905 

All rights reserved 



:Y of ^iim^y'^% ' 

NOV 6 8^0^ 






COPTKIGHT, 1904-1905, 
By PEAESON PUBLISHING CO. 

Copyright, 1905, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1905, 



J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

The origin of the farm — What was reared the first sum- 
mer — Cost and profit — The accident that established 
pet stock — Considering the pros and cons of a country- 
life — Suggestions for finding the home — Things 
which must be bought before leaving the city , ♦ 1 

CHAPTER n 

OCTOBER 

Putting the out-buildings in order — Renovating the poul- 
try-house — Whitewash — Roosting frame — Nest 
boxes — Space required by hens — Quarantine coops 

— Barrels as grain bins — Mixing grains — Feeding 

— Drinking tubs — The cow — Points for buying — 
Learning to milk 16 

CHAPTER m 

NOVEMBER 

Imperial Pekin ducks — Dry-goods case as a coop — Gath- 
ering the eggs — Ponds not necessary — Feed for 
laying ducks — Pigeons — How to house, mate, feed, 
and general care — Homers the best breed for squab 
raising — Scratching material and nuts for poultry 
V 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

— Selecting the ground for next year's garden — 
Trimming the orchard — Tending to small fruits — 
Pruning grapes — Covering strawberry beds — The 
asparagus bed— Rhubarb for cellar forcing — Storing 
celery and other vegetables — Preparing potting mould 39 

CHAPTER IV 

DECEMBER 

The cow stable — Home-made improvements — Winter 
feeding — The care of milk and utensils — Churning 

— The horse as a Christmas present — How 1 learned 
to hitch up — Choosing a family horse — Feed, sta- 
bling, and grooming — Rabbits — Making the hutches, 
breeding, and feed — Correct way to handle — Caring 
for the little ones — Mushrooms in a cellar — Compost 

for beds — Hints for salads 59 

CHAPTER V 

JANUARY 

The honey-bee — Purchasing a colony and hive — Swarm- 
ing — Smoking — The government of the hive — The 
age of bees — The queen, mother of the hive — The 
nuptial flight — Wintering bees — The poultry-yard ; 
making up breeding flocks — Alternating males — ■ 
Chemical analysis of the egg — Balanced rations — 
Guinea-fowls ; their market value — Housing and feed- 
ing — Finding a nest — Setting the eggs under com- 
mon hens — Special brood coops — A lost baby — 
Feeding the little ones — How to cook ... 87 

vi 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VI 
FEBRUARY 

PAGE 

The incubator — Setting it up on arrival — Correct adjust- 
ment — Heating and regulating — Testing eggs — 
Hay instead of roosts for cold nights — Making brood 
coops, drinking fountains, feed troughs — Planning 
the garden — List of seeds, vegetable and flower — 
Nursery boxes — Starting flower seeds and potatoes 
in the house — Hastening rhubarb and asparagus in 
the garden 116 

CHAPTER VII 
MARCH 

My first experience with incubator chicks — Brooders ; 
advantage of individual machines — Preparing for 
the motherless babies — Food for the first twenty 
days — Setting hens — How to know a broody hen — 
Removing from the chicken-house to special coop for 
the period of incubation — Removing the babies — 
Placing Mrs. Biddy and her family in the brood coop 
— The right consistency of mould for ploughing — 
Transplanting seedlings to larger boxes — Starting 
tender vegetables in the house — Planting potatoes ; 
how to cut the tubers — Buying and setting out dor- 
mant trees 141 

CHAPTER VIII 
APRIL 
Launcelot Gobbo, our first gander — Geese ; breeding, feed- 
ing, hatching — Care of goslings and young ducks — 

vii 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Young ducks for market ; how to catch, a"'7^oid fright- 
ening — Changing diet for hens — Special whitewash 
for fruit trees and fences — Spraying fruit trees — 
' Bordeaux mixture — Planting vegetable seeds ; dis- 
tance of rows and depth — Bedding out hardy vege- 
table plants — Uncovering strawberries — The herb 
bed — Preparing the ground in flower garden . , 166 

CHAPTER IX 

MAY 

Turkeys — Serviceable suggestions gathered on a large 
breeding farm — Personal experience of feeding, 
hatching, and rearing the young — Importance of 
caring for growing chicks — Weight of chicks — Sepa- 
rating flocks for market and stock — Feeding young 
pullets — The cow and calf — Weaning an unneces- 
sary cruelty — Rearing the calf — Bedding out tender 
vegetables — Looking-glasses in the cherry trees — 
Starting an asparagus bed — Field corn — Trees in 
the chicken yards — Setting out house plants in the 
flower garden 194 

CHAPTER X 

JUNE 

Pheasants — Different breeds — Enclosures, feeding, mat- 
ing — Bantam hens as foster-mothers — Killing and 
dressing poultry — Artificial method of fattening in 
use abroad — The effect of food on flavor — How to 
pluck, draw, and truss birds for table — Commencing 

viii 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

to sow succession crops in the vegetable garden — 
The advantage of the hand plough and cultivator — 
Sulphur for grape vines — Caring for the spring bulbs 
after flowering is over 220 

CHAPTER XI 
JULY 

Cats of high degree — Home cattery — Mother cats — Kit- 
tens — Vermin that attacks poultry ; how to prevent 
and exterminate — Moulting, hastening and aiding, 
effect on egg production — Increasing the currant and 
berry patch — Sowing crimson clover for poultry — 
Renovating the orchard ground — Cow peas and clover 
to eke out the poor hay crop . . . . 244 

CHAPTER XII 

AUGUST 

Preparing fowls for the show-room — Washing white birds 
— Crating and shipping — Capons — My first lesson 
and last attempt — Their use as foster-mothers — 
Water-cress; starting beds and forcing for winter — 
Planting new strawberry beds — Some hardy vege- 
tables — Harvesting onions — Planting bulbs in the 
garden for next year — Starting bulbs in the house to 
bloom for Christmas — Taking slips from geraniums 
and other plants 266 

CHAPTER XIII 
SEPTEMBER 
Collecting green food for the poultry during the winter — 
Buying new cockerels — Sorting and mating young 

ix 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

pigeons — Building up the business side of a farm — 
How to ship eggs — The new chicken-house — The 
pig; its sty and general care — Gathering apples and 
storing for winter use — Hot-bed and cold frame . 288 

CHAPTER XIV 

POULTRY AILMENTS 

Roup, bronchitis, canker, influenza, all kindred ills — 
Gapes; prevention and cure — Scaly legs — How to 
prevent feather pulling — Cholera — Indigestion — 
Crop bound — Eye troubles — An old cure for gapes . 313 

CHAPTER XV 

VEGETABLES FOR TABLE AND HEALTH 

Squash cutlets — Irish stew — Mock duck — Furmity — 
Okra — Pot-cheese, plain and savory — Potato cheese 
cakes — Curd cheese cakes — Honey cake — Honey 
drink — Generalities 332 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The House that rented for Fifteen Dollars a Month Frontispiece 

PACING PACK 

The Fireplace 5 

The First Hen ("Mrs. Perry") — Just turned out into 

Brood Coop 12 

Sheds made into a Chicken Yard 21' 

Powdering a New Arrival 28 

Pair of White Wyandottes ....... 33 

A Fine Coop for Little Chicks 37 

A Fine Flock . 44 • 

Yards for Pigeons 48 

Drake 53 

Winter Quarters . . . * 60 

The Right Way to squeeze out the Buttermilk ... 65 

Ploughing — Currying 69 

A Pair of Beauties 76 

A Corner of our First Rabbitry 80 

Jacko, who comes and goes as he Likes . . . . 85 

Looking for the Queen 92 

What the Bees give Us 97 

A Flock of Pullets 101 

A Pair of White Guinea-fowl 108 

Market Birds hatched by Hens and as Tame as their Foster- 
mothers 112 

XI 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAOINO PAGE 

A Sturdy Pair of Plymouth Rocks 117 

The Head Herdsman ' . . . 124 

Single and Double Brooder House 145 

Interior of Sectional Brooder House, One Hundred Peet Long, 

heated by Hot Water, used on Large Broiler Plants . 160 

Father of his Flock 165- 

Launcelot and his Perturbed Spouse . . . . .172 

Launcelot Gobbo the Wonderful 181 

The Right Sort of Pool for Ducks 188 

Gathering Dandelion Salad 193 

One of our Pets 197 

Brooder Yards 204 

Feeding — Going to Pasture 208 

Colonizing Plan 213 

Pheasant Enclosure 220 

Ring-neck Pheasant 229 

Useful Coops for Hens and Chicks (Rough Shelters for keep- 
ing off Noon-day Sun later in the Season) . . . 236 
The Fox Terrier that came to Visit — Tabitha . . . 245 
Argent Splendor (a Superb Specimen of his Kind) — Kliner . 252 
Mowing down a Weedy Patch for Bedding .... 261 

A Pretty Corner near the House 268 

The Beehives in August 277 

Vegetables for Dinner 284 

October 289 

Twelve-dozen Egg Box 293 

Breeding House for Hens 300 

The Pigeon Yard 304 

Pleasure and Business 312 



Xll 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

CHAPTER I 

A SELF-SUPPORTING country home 
-^^-^ for persons whose income depends on 
personal effort within the heart of a great city 
will seem a Utopian dream unless I relate my 
personal experiences as to its practical value, 
which commenced ten years ago. Up to that 
time I had been a city woman, striving, like 
hundreds of others, to maintain appearances 
on a housekeeping allowance which needed 
coaxing over every little bump of hospitality, 
to induce the two ends to meet. Through 
all the petty warfare of bad times, one desire, 
one hope, was paramount — a country home 
where plenty should make visitors an unal- 
loyed pleasure. Chance, Fate, Providence, 
or whatever name is preferred for the Power 
which shapes our ends, led me to the Pet 
Stock and Poultry Show, and there it suddenly 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

occurred to me that, instead of waiting for 
the acquisition of fortune to realize the desire, 
the desire might be made to help acquire 
some of the fortune. It was such a comfort- 
able, invigorating inspiration that it enthused 
away all the obstacles suggested by a cautious 
husband, and his consent was won on condi- 
tion that current expenses were not increased, 
or capital risked. 

An advertisement was inserted in a Sunday 
paper for a small farm not more than twenty- 
five miles out, or more than one mile from 
a depot. At least a dozen real estate agents 
answered, assuring us that they had exactly 
what we required. Being unfamiliar with 
the capacity and fertility of the imaginations 
of these gentlemen, our faith was great until 
we had inspected seven or eight wretched 
places, utterly unlike any ideal home. Then 
we became convinced that the real estate 
business undoubtedly affects mental vision 
and veracity. 

However, we eventually discovered a dear 
2 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

old house of nine rooms, two cellars, a summer 
kitchen, barn, chicken-house, cow shed, small 
smoke-house, and twelve acres of land, five 
of which were covered with apple trees. 
Near the house were three pear trees, four 
peach, three quinces, two plum trees, and 
about half an acre divided between straw- 
berry plants, blackberry and raspberry bushes. 
It was the haven of our imagination, and could 
be leased for three years at $180 a year, so 
that, even after $6 a month had been added 
for my husband's commutation ticket, there 
was still a surplus of $19 from the rent of 
the apartment we were occupying in town, 
which, of course, was to be used to defray 
moving expenses and purchase of stock. 
The latter commenced with the acquisition 
of an old Plymouth Rock hen, which my 
nearest neighbor sold me for fifty cents, 
because, as she put it: — 

"The plaguy thing wanted to set afore 
weather was settled enough to be bothered 
with chicks." 

3 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

I thought differently, and "Mrs. Perry," as 
we christened her, became the founder of my 
poultry farm by presenting me with nine 
strong little chicks out of the thirteen eggs I 
set her on. Five more broody biddies were 
bought, and by the end of March I had sixty- 
seven chicks. During the summer there was 
an addition of fifteen varied mongrels, and 
one hundred and forty-eight chicks were 
raised. The cost of the hens *was $10, eggs 
for setting $5, feed from August to March 
$4; total outlay, $19. 

On the credit side, ninety chicks were sold 
as broilers, realizing $22. So the profit was 
$3 in cash, with fifty-eight pullets for stock, 
as well as eggs for our own table from May. 

Ducks commenced, as did everything else, 
in a very small way; but they were real 
Imperial Pekins, two ducks and a drake, 
acquired the second week in March. Their 
laying started on March 20; and as these 
birds take all their rest during the winter, 
paying their board every day with an egg 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

through the early summer, by the 26th I had 
the requisite eleven to put under a hen for hatch- 
ing, the first ten having been used for cooking. 

On June 30, when my ducklings were 
nine weeks old, a man drove in and offered 
to buy them at eighteen cents a pound. 
There were sixteen about the same age; 
their weight tallied up forty-four pounds, 
netting me $7.92. 

By November, thirty more had been sold, 
twelve being retained for stock. 

The cost of feeding cannot be given with 
exactness because no separate account was 
kept — $20 would certainly cover it. The 
originals cost $4.50, so profit on the invest- 
ment amounted to nearly $30. 

Three guinea-fowls became my property 
for a dollar and a half — the owner was 
anxious to be rid of them. We raised thirty- 
two. Six pairs sold, at six months old, at a 
dollar a pair: we used ten for our own table 
— they are delicious, very like game; eight 
were retained for stock. 

5 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

In April we made our garden. Seeds, 
including a barrel of potatoes, cost $10. 
May 17 we had radishes, lettuce, and young 
onions. June 7 new potatoes and green 
peas graced our table. From that time in 
quick succession came turnips, beets, cab- 
bage, carrots, sweet corn, melons, okra, cu- 
cumbers, beans, tomatoes, and squash, all 
so delicious in their crisp, cool flavor, un- 
spoiled by packing or travelling, that we 
became almost vegetarians; but so bounti- 
ful was the supply that the surplus, when 
canned and stored, was sufficient to carry 
us through the winter. The rhubarb gave 
us fruit pies in April, after which came 
cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants, 
blackberries, peaches, apples, and pears — all 
we could use, and plenty to "put up." In 
fact, with April, living expenses became 
lighter each week, for many of our rest 
hours were devoted to fishing on the river 
which ran through the orchard; the spoils 
making a pleasant change for breakfast, and 

a 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

an additional reduction in the butcher's 
bill. 

By October the savings from these sources 
alone enabled me to gratify my great desire for 
a cow. The day of her arrival was the advent 
of the real farm home, which gave the blessed 
feeling of independent sufficiency. Cereals, 
hitherto eaten as a sort of duty, became tempt- 
ing luxuries when surrounded by real cream. 

With April also started the pet stock 
branch of our farming, which will appeal to 
many women who cannot possibly alter their 
lives enough to start a chicken farm. We 
had two Maltese cats and a white rabbit, 
merely as pets. Early in February, Gray- 
kins had four kittens, all of which had been 
kept because they were so pretty, and Gray- 
kins was so fond of them. I had not the 
heart to consign them to the usual watery 
grave. About the same time. Bunny had 
six little pink-eyed babies; but their becoming 
the foundation of a pet stock business was 
quite an accident. In fact, these little people 

7 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Think of a family enjoying the comfort 
of a large house instead of a small apart- 
ment, leading a happy, healthy life, exempt 
from the wear and tear of the city rush and 
noise — surely an enviable condition under 
any circumstances. When you realize that 
all these comforts enabled us, after the first 
year and a half, to bank the sum previously 
absorbed by living expenses, you will under- 
stand my enthusiasm on the subject of a 
country home for people of moderate means, 
which you might have received with doubt, 
had not this summary of facts been given to 
prove conclusively what can be accomplished 
in a short time without capital. 

Before deciding to embrace a country life 
it will be well to consider the pros and cons. 
The average city man may dread becoming 
a commuter; but when he realizes the en- 
joyment and rest found on a comfortable 
seat in a moderately filled car, the standing, 
crushed strap-hold of the elevated train will 
scarcely be regretted. 

10 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Children's education is the next "obstacle." 
Every village has a school, some extremely 
good ; all possess the advantage of not being 
overcrowded. When the little one has out- 
grown the village curriculum, at an average 
distance of ten miles in any of the adjoining 
districts will be found the high school or 
college. All suburban lines issue school 
tickets at extremely low rates. It being 
conceded that full mental development is 
impossible unless accompanied by physical 
and moral growth, the pure air and whole- 
some freedom of the country must make the 
best men and women of your children. 

The entire category of supposed draw- 
backs is replaced by benefits and values too 
numerous to be catalogued here. 

October and November are always de- 
lightfully bright months, just cold enough 
to make tramping about in the country 
vastly enjoyable, and should therefore be 
utilized for finding and fixing the future 
home. It is also the best and cheapest time 

11 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Think of a family enjoying the comfort 
of a large house instead of a small apart- 
ment, leading a happy, healthy life, exempt 
from the wear and tear of the city rush and 
noise — surely an enviable condition under 
any circumstances. When you realize that 
all these comforts enabled us, after the first 
year and a half, to bank the sum previously 
absorbed by living expenses, you will under- 
stand my enthusiasm on the subject of a 
country home for people of moderate means, 
which you might have received with doubt, 
had not this summary of facts been given to 
prove conclusively what can be accomplished 
in a short time without capital. 

Before deciding to embrace a country life 
it will be well to consider the pros and cons. 
The average city man may dread becoming 
a commuter; but when he realizes the en- 
joyment and rest found on a comfortable 
seat in a moderately filled car, the standing, 
crushed strap-hold of the elevated train will 
scarcely be regretted. 

10 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Children's education is the next "obstacle." 
Every village has a school, some extremely 
good; all possess the advantage of not being 
overcrowded. When the little one has out- 
grown the village curriculum, at an average 
distance of ten miles in any of the adjoining 
districts will be found the high school or 
college. All suburban lines issue school 
tickets at extremely low rates. It being 
conceded that full mental development is 
impossible unless accompanied by physical 
and moral growth, the pure air and whole- 
some freedom of the country must make the 
best men and women of your children. 

The entire category of supposed draw- 
backs is replaced by benefits and values too 
numerous to be catalogued here. 

October and November are always de- 
lightfully bright months, just cold enough 
to make tramping about in the country 
vastly enjoyable, and should therefore be 
utilized for finding and fixing the future 
home. It is also the best and cheapest time 

11 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

to purchase birds, fodder, etc., — poultry- 
men and farmers are anxious to reduce ex- 
penses and economize space before real cold 
weather sets in. Another advantage in mov- 
ing then, is that roads are in good condition 
and teamsters are not busy. 

A good plan is to study maps of the sur- 
rounding country within twenty miles of the 
city; select a few villages, then write to the 
station agent or postmaster in each, stating 
plainly just what size place is required, re- 
questing him to hand the letter to any one 
having such a farm for rent or sale. Country 
officials are usually well posted and obliging. 
When making appointments through the mail 
to visit places, do so two or three days in 
advance to insure being met. Farmers seldom 
send to the village for mail every day. 

Every woman, of course, has individual 
tastes to be considered in selecting a home, 
so my only suggestion will be this : do not 
expect or desire modern improvements in 
a cheap farm-house; they are a snare and a 

12 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

delusion, invariably a never ending expense 
and menace to health. An abundant supply 
of water, not merely good, but "without fear 
and without reproach," is essential. Your 
inquiries about the well cannot be too care- 
ful. 

The ideal poultry-farm has sandy soil 
sloping to the south, or southwest, standing 
well away from neighbors. To a self-sup- 
porting home there must be an orchard, cow 
pasture, strip of woodland, and the ordinary 
farm buildings. 

A lease should have a renewal or purchase 
clause^ and the right to cut small or dead 
wood for repairing, fencing, and for fuel. 
Of course this does not mean sacrificing 
timber, or any power to sell it. Also it must 
be understood that the right to remove 
chicken-houses or other buildings you may 
erect during your tenancy, belongs to you. 

Before leaving the city, certain additions 

to the household belongings should be made 

as follows : — 

13 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

A portable bath-tub, lamps, stoves, wash- 
tubs, and such tools as are indispensable — 
spade, long-handled shovel, pick, grub-hoe, 
rake, two saws, scythe, sickle, axe, big ham- 
mer, screw-driver, chisel, gimlet, and wheel- 
barrow. 

During my first year of poultry raising, 
like most amateurs I craved reliable infor- 
mation, and bought, borrowed, and begged 
many books, so-called authorities on the 
subject. There was always a page, when 
there were not several, devoted to each breed 
of hens. In each case it was the best breed 
(only there was a reason why it was better 
not to keep it), lengthy dissertations on the 
value of protein, carbohydrates, cellulose, in 
a nutritive ratio in feeds — all very learned 
and clever, of extreme value to the experi- 
enced poultryman, but mere confusing jar- 
gon to the uninstructed. Remembering this, 
my great desire will be to make these 
monthly schedules of work simple and dras- 
tically plain, stating exact quantity, quality, 

14 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and methods found by personal experience 
to be safe and useful — a sort of necessary 
foundation on which the layman can build 
knowledge as gleaned from individual ex- 
perience. 



15 



CHAPTER II 

OCTOBER 

TpRESUMING the selection is made and 
■^ the ordeal of moving over, the practical 
side of the work can now claim attention. 

Go over all the buildings carefully. A 
loose board or rotten stable floor, a jagged 
point to some projecting post, a loose facing 
to a manger, are all trifling matters needing 
only a few minutes' work to fix, but neglected 
may cause serious accidents. See that all 
the doors fasten easily and securely. 

The chicken-house is usually a dilapidated, 
dark shed, needing thorough renovation. 
Commence by having the old roosting poles 
and nests torn out and burned at once. Do 
not let them be left lying about. Ceiling 
and sides must be swept with a stiff broom; 
corners, ledges, all crevices, well scraped to 

16 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

remove accumulated dust and dirt. If the 
floor is earth, half a foot must be scraped 
off, the surface carted to a remote part of 
the farm, and scattered broadcast. It is 
excellent fertilizer for the garden; but as 
the previous occupants of the chicken-house 
may not have been healthy, it is safer not to 
leave it where your birds can scratch in it. 
Get a quart of crude carbolic acid and mix 
it with three gallons of naphtha — needless to 
say, these commodities must be kept in 
closed cans in an outside shed, secure from 
children or fire. Take out about a quart at 
a time, in an open pail into which a brush 
can be dipped. The interior of the house 
is to be thoroughly painted over with this 
mixture, swishing it well into corners. Scat- 
ter quicklime on the floor; shut the door 
and leave the place alone for twelve hours. 

Unless it is an exceptionally well-built 
house, the outside will have to be covered 
all over with two-ply tar paper, or the red 

roofing paper, whichever is preferred. In 
c 17 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

calculating the quantity required, remember 
that the dealer's quotation of feet in a roll, 
is of square, not running feet ; therefore a 
roll of two hundred and fifty feet of the usual 
yard width would only be about eighty-two 
lineal feet. 

Choose a dry day without frost; start at 
the bottom, using the caps and nails which 
are specially made for the purpose; some 
makers send out sufiicient for each roll and 
include it in the prices quoted. Each row 
must be allowed to lap over the edge of the 
preceding one, two inches. Fit up snugly 
under the eaves of the roof, or, if it is even 
with the sides, allow ample overlappings ; 
otherwise slanting, beating rains will find a 
vulnerable spot and cause trouble. What- 
ever the size of the building, have the greater 
part of the south or southwest exposure, 
glass. Ordinary-sized sashes can be bought 
in or near every village, and are best fixed 
in grooves top and bottom, because then the 
whole sash can be pushed back and out of 

18 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the way on fine days. On the outside, cover 
the opening with wire netting. 

After the exterior of the poultry-house is 
put into good repair, the interior must be 
considered. 

If the floor appears damp, have a thick 
layer of stones laid over it before filling in 
clean earth in place of the surface scraped 
away. It must be levelled and well stamped 
down; when finished, the floor must be a 
foot above the outer ground. 

Put a quart of unslaked lime into an ordi- 
nary-sized galvanized pail; pour on it enough 
boiling water to come about three inches below 
the lime; don't disturb it, and in a few min- 
utes it will boil and bubble ; then, with a long 
piece of stick, stir it into a smooth paste, to 
which more boiling water is to be added until 
it is about the consistency of thin cream. 
Half a small cup of crude carbolic acid and 
a similar-sized cup of kerosene are then to 
be stirred into it. This completes a white- 
wash which, when applied while hot to the 

19 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

walls and ceiling of the chicken-house, makes 
it wholesomely clean. When this is done, 
have a platform three feet wide run across 
the back, or end, of the house, two feet from 
the floor. 

Get hardwood slats four inches wide by 
two inches thick; from these construct a 
frame eighteen inches wide and six inches 
shorter than the length of the platform. At 
each corner of this frame put a nine-inch 
leg. This frame, when stood upon the plat- 
form, makes two roosts which, being on the 
same level, prevent the birds fighting and 
crowding upon one another, as they always 
do when the roosts slant, each bird desiring 
to be on the top rung. 

If the house is to accommodate twelve 
hens, provide six nests a foot square, made in 
groups of three, with legs a foot high; they 
are easily handled and removed for house- 
cleaning. Stand them in the darkest and 
most secluded part of the house. Put a 
handful of hay and a china nest-egg in 

20 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

each. Scatter dry sand, earth, fine ashes, or 
sawdust on the platform, to prevent the 
droppings from adhering to the boards; it 
facilitates cleaning. The entire floor space is 
finally to be covered five or six inches deep 
with straw cut a foot in length, common 
bedding hay, or dried leaves. 

The yard is best in front of the house. 
Straight poles about eleven inches in circum- 
ference and eight feet long, cut from the 
woods, or four-by-four spruce scantling, in- 
serted two feet in the ground and six feet 
apart, constitute the foundation on which 
to stretch the wire netting. Make a door 
into the yard, using very light poles or slats 
for the foundation and, of course, covering 
it with wire. Run a baseboard from post 
to post, and above it two-inch mesh gal- 
vanized wire netting, five feet wide. Yards 
for a house accommodating twelve birds should 
be at least fifty feet long and ten feet wide. 

If time or the restriction on expenditure 
prohibits the platform, nests, etc., they can 

21 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

be dispensed with for a time by standing the 
roosting frame on the floor, taking the pre- 
caution to have plenty of the scratching 
material under it; empty grocery boxes can 
be substituted for the made nests. Nail the 
netting as low down on the posts as possible, 
if baseboards are not used, and throw earth 
all around the outside. Even the roosting 
frame could be made from straight sap- 
lings. 

The cleaning, whitewashing, and making 
storm-proof must be in no way slighted. 
Cleanliness, freedom from draught and damp, 
are essential conditions which must be estab- 
lished before genuine work can be accom- 
plished. 

There are some twenty-five distinct breeds 
of fowls — domestic fowls, that is. Further- 
more, there are four or five varieties of each 
chronicled in the "American Standard of 
Perfection," as qualified to compete at 
poultry shows. But as practical utility is 
the keynote to be struck in establishing a 

22 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

self-supporting home, the lists must be re- 
duced to those birds which are the best as 
marketable commodities. In this list will 
be found Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- 
dottes, Rhode Island Reds, and Leghorns. 
After experimenting with all these and many 
others, the White Wyandotte, in my opinion, 
reigns supreme as queen of the "general 
purposes hen." They are good winter layers, 
mature early, and either as broilers or roasters 
are excellent. Having small bones and being 
of round, compact build, they have plump 
breasts even at twelve weeks old. Their 
feathers are worth nearly as much as ducks'. 
Lastly, they are kept in bonds by a fence only 
four feet high. 

Honesty demands the admission that 
Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds 
are excellent birds; so that my choice is a 
purely personal matter. Brahmas, having a 
larger frame, do not make such good broil- 
ers. As young roasters they are delicious; 
but once fully matured, they cannot compare 

23 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

with the smaller birds as egg producers. 
Leghorns, which are the great layers in a 
warm climate, must have the best of housing 
to keep up their reputation in the East and 
West during the cold weather, when eggs 
bring the best prices. A fence ten or twelve 
feet high is required to control them. This 
adds materially to the yarding expenses. 

A mixed flock of barnyard chickens should 
not be considered for a moment, because it 
is impossible to select any rations suited to 
varied constitutional demands. Brahmas 
and all the heavy birds will make internal 
fat, retarding egg production, on rations that 
would merely keep Leghorns in good condi- 
tion. This is one of the main reasons why 
ordinary farmers declare that chickens don't 
pay, while poultrymen state that they are 
the most profitable stock. 

Wyandotte hens between one and two 
years old, of good market quality, can be 
bought for a dollar each ; and as you want 
the eggs this first season principally for hatch- 

M 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ing, they will be better than this year's birds, 
which cost more. The number must be 
regulated by the size of the chicken-house. 
Every fifteen birds require twelve by twelve 
feet of floor space. It is better to have ten 
birds well cared for than twenty in crowded 
quarters. 

Two cockerels (the name which distin- 
guishes roosters under one year old) will 
have to be bought in January, when the 
eggs are to be used for hatching, but are 
not necessary at first. Before the birds ar- 
rive, get two large, empty cases from the 
grocery store. Remove the boards from the 
top of each, and make a lid of slats and wire 
netting. Put hinges, four inches from each 
end, at the back, and a catch to fasten it 
down in front, to convert the boxes into 
coops. Stand them in some outbuilding, 
light and airy in the daytime, but which can 
be closely shut up at night. They must be 
whitewashed inside, and have a perch across 
the centre, and two or three inches of sand, 

25 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

dry earth, or ashes on the bottom. These 
places are for quarantine coops, in which 
new birds can be segregated, until the nec- 
essary precautions have been effected. Fill 
a flour dredger with any good insect pow- 
der ; take each bird by the legs, hold it 
head down, and powder thoroughly, especially 
in the soft feathers around the thighs and 
tail; then put it into the coop, where the 
birds are to be kept for two or three days, 
during which time they should be powdered 
every night, to insure their being free from 
vermin when placed in the chicken-house. 
Care in always observing this rule saves much 
future work, and protects the premises from 
contamination. 

The plan of establishing the country house 
without capital forbids the building of a 
feed house until success and natural growth 
compel properly constructed accommodation, 
which will be the next fall. Until that time, 
some makeshift must be fixed up; for it is 
annoying — well-nigh impossible — to have 

26 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

things scattered all over the place. (The 
summer kitchen was old, and inconveniently 
far from the house, on my first place, so I 
used that.) 

Inexpensive bins to keep the different 
grains in can be made from sugar barrels, 
costing ten cents at the village store. Square 
lids to cover the whole top are easily fixed. 
A coat of tar on the outside will make it so 
slippery, rats and mice can't run up the sides ; 
and rodents dislike tar so much, they won't 
gnaw through it. With a white distinguish- 
ing number on the front of each barrel, 
they look quite tidy and businesslike. 
Wherever they stand, put bricks or blocks 
of wood underneath so that the air can cir- 
culate; thus avoiding dampness, which will 
cause the contents to mildew. When the 
barrels are ready, buy a bag each of ground 
feed (oats and corn), white middlings (some- 
times called screenings), bran, linseed meal, 
animal meal, whole corn, and a bale of 
clover hay. 

27 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Before beginning to mix the grains, make 
yourself a large apron with long sleeves, and 
a cap that will cover your head all over. 
The dust clings to hair and clothes like 
flour, and is difficult to brush off. 

Start operations by putting into a dry 
dish pan two quarts of ground feed and bran 
and one quart of animal meal. Mix thor- 
oughly with your hands, and empty into 
barrel number one; repeat until all the ma- 
terials are used. This is to form the foun- 
dation of mash number one. 

Now put two quarts of middlings and one 
quart of linseed into the dish pan, and mix 
thoroughly. Put the mixture into barrel 
number two, repeating as before, till all these 
ingredients are used. This is mash num- 
ber two. A saucepan with a close-fitting lid, 
that will hold five or ten quarts, according 
to the number of hens, is needed for the 
mashes. 

To prepare mash number one, take from 
barrel number one, one quart of the mixture 

28 




Powdering a New Arrival 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for every ten hens. Put it in the saucepan, 
and just moisten with boiling water — really 
boiling. Cover, and stand behind the stove 
until the morning. 

Mash number two: one quart of clover 
hay, cut into half -inch lengths. Place in 
the saucepan, and pour a quart of boiling 
water over it. Cover, and stand on back of 
stove to steam for two hours. Then add a 
pint of the contents of barrel number two, 
and let it stand until the morning. 



BILL OF FARE FOR TEN HENS 

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morn- 
ings, mash number one, with half a pint of 
millet seed, scattered in the leaves or what- 
ever there is on the floor of the chicken- 
house; noon, chopped vegetables; night, a 
pint of whole corn and a pint of oats. 

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morn- 
ings, mash number two; noon, cut green 
corn and half a pint of Kafir-corn, to scratch 

29 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for; night, one pint of wheat, one pint of 
corn. 

Sunday morning, mash number one and 
half a pint of barley; noon, cabbage or tur- 
nips cut in halves and fixed between stones 
to hold them in position and enable the hens 
to pick out the soft inner part. The noon 
meal is often omitted on Sunday; and on 
Monday morning wheat and cracked corn, 
or barley, are frequently used instead of 
mash, to save mixing on Sunday night. 

The above quantities are those generally 
accepted for ten birds, but it is impossible to 
do more than approximate the needs of any 
unknown flock. The best plan for the nov- 
ice is to put down the mash and see how 
much they will eat in twelve minutes, and 
thereafter give about half the quantity ; 
for their crops should not be filled in the 
morning, as they must be kept busy all day, 
scratching and hunting for food. At supper- 
time, on the contrary, they need all they can 
eat; especially at the time of the year when 

30 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the nights are long and cold. Feed slowly; 
stop and see that each hen has a fair share. 
The mash must be just warm, never hot. 
Feed should be placed in zinc pans or troughs. 
If these are not procurable, pieces of smooth 
board three inches wide and two feet long, 
nailed together lengthways, and a piece four 
by five inches across each end, make handy 
little troughs without expense. 

By the way, can you use a hammer and 
saw ? If not, start in to learn from any handy 
boy you know; for a chicken woman must 
be able to make and mend things. The 
*' stitch in time saves nine" adage must have 
been created on a farm. 

Green cut bone may need an explanation. 
It means fresh bones from the butcher's, 
ground in a hand-mill specially made for the 
purpose, and costing from $7 to $20, accord- 
ing to size. It is one of the most valuable 
egg producers known; one pound is suffi- 
cient for sixteen hens. When there are very 
few birds, table scraps can take the place of 

31 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

animal meal; especially if a piece of raw 
liver is nailed up in the house once or twice 
a week for them to peck at. 

Have a box about a foot deep and two 
square, filled once a week with road dust or 
fine ashes, put in a sunny place for the birds 
to dust themselves in; also a small one, filled 
with sharp grit. Hens have no teeth, and 
must have something to take their place. 
Neglecting to provide birds with this and 
green food is the reason why so many ama- 
teurs say hens don't thrive when confined to 
the yards. If there is a stone-crusher in your 
neighborhood, the smallest-sized stone, such 
as is used for garden paths, makes a fine 
substitute for the regular poultry grit. If 
you have a small boy, he can get an after- 
noon's fun smashing up all the broken crock- 
ery and glass, to aid Biddy's digestion. 

There are a variety of drinking fountains 
sold for so little that it is a pity not to have 
a few. Still, I couldn't at first, and found 
that, for the large houses, a butter tub thor- 

32 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

oughly cleaned out, and with a square hole 
three inches by three, cut half-way up on 
one side, is a good makeshift; for the half- 
tub holds four quarts 
of water, and Biddy ^ 
can drink very com- 
fortably out of the 
hole. 

A cat is a much bet- 
ter safeguard against 
rats and mice than the 
best trap; so keep a good Maltese in the 
feed house, and another in the barn. Pretty 
kittens sell for fifty cents, or a dollar, each. 




THE FAMILY COW 

Every country place should have its cow; 
she is the very foundation of its comfort. 
If you doubt it, just look through the cookery 
book. Is there any nice, appetizing dish 
for breakfast, dinner, tea, or supper that does 
not require milk, butter, or cream ? 

33 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

If you purpose keeping poultry for profit, 
skim-milk figures largely as a factor in rais- 
ing little chicks, and fattening birds for table 
use. In fact, the country home without a 
cow, is like a coach without horses — so 
hopelessly stuck does the housekeeper be- 
come who tries to provide a varied bill of 
fare without dairy produce. Away from 
city markets, a cow is a downright necessity. 
An ordinarily good specimen will cost $40 
or so. Feed during winter, if it must all be 
bought, will cost perhaps a dollar a week. 
Feed from April to September will cost 
nothing, if you have good pasture land. 

For the first six months, she will give you 
ten to twelve quarts of milk a day. After 
allowing half that amount to be consumed 
by the family, there will be suflScient cream 
from the remainder to make five or six 
pounds of good butter each week. The 
sour milk, when creamed, makes pot cheese, 
— otherwise known as cottage cheese, — en- 
joyed as much by the family as by the poultry. 

34 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Even the buttermilk should be treasured, for 
it has digestive and blood-purifying quali- 
ties, of much greater value than half of the 
patent medicines. 

For three months before calving, the milk 
supply diminishes. It is well to allow the 
cow to go dry for four or five weeks; but 
even this apparent loss is covered by the 
value of the calf. For family use, the Jersey 
is undoubtedly the best animal, because the 
milk is so much richer. 



POINTS ABOUT BUYING 

A cow with her first calf does not give as 
much milk as after the second and third; 
so she can be bought cheaper than when she 
has reached her maximum yield, A small 
family can make money if they buy a young 
cow, and sell her after her third calf, when 
they should get at least $15 more for her 
than she cost originally. A cow's age can 
be told by the rings or ridges on the horns, 

35 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

one appearing for each calf. Choose an 
animal that has a straight back, big, soft eyes, 
a rather short face, and a long, thin tail. 

The best cow in the world can be spoiled 
by bad or careless milking; so be sure that 
you are taught this process by some reliable 
person. A man who has a milk route would 
be a good selection, because he is in constant 
practice. Two or three lessons will give you 
the theory and method; nothing but prac- 
tice can make perfect. Watch the milkman 
closely and carefully, three or four times, 
and obtain a thorough idea of " how it's 
done." Thereafter, repetition will enable you 
to conduct the operation with ease to yourself, 
and comfort to your animal. Never hurry. 
Be sure the bag is quite empty; otherwise, 
you will get less milk every day. 

When we first moved into the country, a 
farm-hand was established on the place. 
Then we looked around, found a cow, and 
bought her. The very day she arrived, the 
man's dignity was offended in some way, 

36 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and he took his departure. I had seen per- 
sons milk, and felt sure it was easy enough; 
so triumphantly marched up to the barn 
at six o'clock, sat myself down close to 
" Cush " (who suddenly seemed to have 
grown very large), tucked the pail between 
my knees, and grasping a teat in each 
hand, proceeded to perform an up-and-down 
movement perfectly familiar from frequent 
observation, and — not a single drop of milk 
rewarded my courageous efforts. My astonish- 
ment was great, as the pushing and pulling 
continued without result. The poor cow's 
was greater. Why she did not forcibly protest 
is a mystery. When the perspiration was 
pouring down my face, and my arms were 
aching as if I had been rowing upstream for 
hours, I looked round and found Rachel 
(the cow) gazing at me with such a bewil- 
dered, pitying expression, that it made me 
laugh; and I suppose I released the tension 
of hand and arm, for the milk started to 
trickle into the pail; and, though it was a 

37 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

tedious process, it ended satisfactorily for 
us humans. Fortunately, Rachel could not 
proclaim her opinion. 

Though it took me some time to make 
milking as easy as it looked, it was never again 
the torture of the first attempt; and it has 
always been a source of keen satisfaction to 
me, that accident compelled me to master 
actual knowledge of so important a detail 
of farm duty. 



38 



CHAPTER III 

NOVEMBER 

T"F your memory of ducks is of the old- 
-*■ fashioned "puddler" which spent all its 
time grubbing in the mud and mire of the 
creek, wandering far from home, dropping 
its eggs promiscuously everywhere to feed 
water rats, and eventually ending an un- 
profitable life a prey to some carnivorous 
animal, the Imperial Pekin Duck will be a 
revelation in its size and beauty. They are 
almost as large as geese, with plumage which 
is white, deepening to rich cream at the quill, 
and bright yellow bills and legs. In fact, 
they look just what they are — the aristo- 
crats of the duck species. At ten weeks old 
they weigh from five to six pounds, bringing 
an average price of 18 cents a pound. Their 
addition to the farm is not a serious con- 

39 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

sideration, because, beyond the first outlay 
for birds, there is little expense. 

An old shed will do quite well for their 
home; or, if you have not one to spare, 50 
cents will buy a large dry-goods box from the 
store in your village, which can be converted 
into a good, serviceable coop — five birds 
need only three by four floor space. Turn 
such a case on its side ; put two strips of four 
by four quartering across the bottom, to keep 
it from the damp of the earth; rip off the 
top, and cut the ends diagonally across from 
front to back, so that when the top is replaced, 
you have a roof with a pitch of half a foot; 
then take the strips of board that formed the 
original top (now the front of your coop), 
and fit them together evenly on the work- 
bench; or, if you haven't arrived at that mas- 
culine dignity, the kitchen table. Measure 
and cut two lengths of single slats to fit 
across; nail on boards six inches from each 
end, to form cleats to hold all the pieces 
together, and form a solid door for the front 

40 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

of the coop. Cut an opening nine inches 
square on one side, and fasten the other side 
to the roof by hinges (strips of leather will 
answer for hinges). In this way it can be 
turned back on the roof for convenience 
when cleaning the coop, and on fine days 
to let in the sun. Unless it is a very good 
box, it had better be covered with roofing 
paper or a coat of tar, to insure a total absence 
of leaks. 

Whatever the house is, it must have clean, 
dry straw, or some sort of bedding about a 
foot deep on the floor, renewed every three 
days. It is not much use to put in nests, 
for ducks seem to prefer dropping their eggs 
around anywhere. Put one box, not more 
than three inches from the floor, in a corner, 
with a china egg. It will sometimes attract 
them. 

Under any circumstances, care must be 
exercised in gathering eggs, for ducks 
generally lay very early in the morning. An 
egg frozen or badly chilled will not hatch. 

41 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Another need for care is necessitated by their 
habit of laying all over the coop and cover- 
ing the eggs with straw, leaves, or whatever 
the floor litter may be. Until I became 
used to the trick, many were crushed under- 
foot. If you are going to let the ducks have 
free range, keep them cooped till about nine 
A.M., or you will lose their eggs. 

A yard fifty feet long and ten wide will be 
sufficiently large to provide exercise for a 
small, breeding flock; and the wire netting 
need only be eighteen inches high, which will 
not cost more than $1.50. Though the fence 
need not be high, it must be very securely 
fastened to the ground; for ducks seem to 
possess abnormal powers when it comes to 
creeping under anything. 

A trio of good, ordinary market stock 
should be purchasable for about $7. Ducks 
are not like hens — they do not lay all the 
year round; but when they start, they are 
attentive to the business of egg production 
daily, so that a couple of mature Pekins 

4^ 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

will provide you with a sitting in six days. 
As you will want to keep some of the young 
ones for next year's stock, ask the breeder 
you buy from to ship you birds two years 
old, as their progeny is stronger. 

Pekins never want to sit; so hens must be 
used for hatching, until your stock is large 
enough to fill an incubator in a few days. 
Artificial duck raising is without doubt the 
best. There is one farm in Massachusetts 
that markets forty-five thousand young ducks 
annually, sells two tons of feathers, and keeps 
twelve hundred breeders ! Would such an 
immense business be possible in the old way? 

Though Pekins don't need water to swim 
in, they must have quantities to drink, always 
fresh and clean; which means that drink- 
ing pans must be refilled three times a day, 
and be so constructed as to enable the bird 
to submerge the whole bill in the water. 
Why.^ Because there are two small holes 
at the base of the bill, which become clogged 
with feed or mud; and unless they can rinse 

43 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

these out when drinking, the poor things 
smother. 

A man who had a broiler farm near our 
place, three years ago, bought a hundred 
ducks' eggs, hatched out a fine lot of young- 
sters, and lost every one within two weeks, 
through using a water fountain in the brooder 
that was too shallow. As I had lots of ducks 
at the time, he brought some over for me to 
see. There was nothing whatever the mat- 
ter with them, except that their little nostrils 
were all stopped up with the soft food. So 
pray remember this very important direc- 
tion, when you are arranging drinking water 
for ducks, young or old; they must not be 
able to get into the pan with their feet or 
bodies, but their entire heads must have 
free entrance. 

FEED FOR LAYING DUCKS 

For five ducks take one quart of bran, a 
pint and a quarter of corn meal, half a pint 
of beef scraps, one quart of cut clover, and 

44 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

half a pint of grit. Scald the clover and 
steam the same as for hens. Add the other 
ingredients, giving them the mixture just 
warm, and a little softer than you would for 
hens, night and morning. Cut vegetables 
at noon, unless they are on free range amongst 
brush and grass; in which case, halve the 
night and morning rations, and give nothing 
at noon after April 15. 



THE RAISING OF PIGEONS 

There is a constant demand for squabs in 
all the large markets. During the winter 
they will bring 40 cents a pair, if you have 
private customers. Even the wholesale 
prices range from $3 to $4 a dozen. The 
average estimate for feed is 50 cents a year 
for each pair of breeders; that will give you 
at least twelve squabs in that time. Cal- 
culate for yourself and see if it will not pay. 

Use of the old-fashioned row of holes, and 
nest boxes nailed to the side of the barn, into 

45 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

which every storm beats, entirely prohibits 
any breeding in the winter. Even in the 
summer many young ones are sacrificed to 
the elements. 

To insure a profitable return, pigeons must 
be adequately cared for. A small house, 
built almost like chicken quarters, eight by 
twelve, with a yard as long and as high as 
the cash to be expended on wire netting 
permits, will accommodate twenty-five pairs. 
There must be a window facing south; and 
two feet from the roof in front, an opening 
two feet long and one high, with an eight- 
inch board running along it inside and out, 
as a platform for the birds to rest on. This 
opening should have a shutter to close on 
very cold nights. 

For inside fittings provide small boxes 
two feet long (empty egg crates are just the 
thing, the dividing partitions being already 
there), an eight-inch platform running in 
front, or a perch extending a foot out in 
front of each compartment. These individual 

46 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

houses must be arranged two feet apart all 
around the walls, about three feet from the 
floor. Put up two or three roosts in the 
middle of the floor. Whitewash everything 
thoroughly, and, when dry, put an earthen 
nest in each compartment. They cost a 
dollar a dozen, and are better than any con- 
trivance, because they are so easily kept clean. 
Cover the floor with gravel. Have a good 
drinking fountain, into which the birds can 
get nothing but their bills. Add a pan 
about two feet square and four inches deep 
as a bath-tub, to be used in the house in win- 
ter, and in the yard in summer. A bundle 
of hay and straw is advisable; some homers 
are ambitious and like to make their own 
nests. Have the ground in their yard 
ploughed or dug up, fix a few general 
perches, and all is complete. 

You may ask, "Why not fix up the loft 
over the stable?" Simply because that 
would necessitate such a high yard that it 
would cost more than the small house, and 

47 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

be nothing like so convenient. Further, a cov- 
ered yard is imperative, if you don't want to 
lose half your birds in seed and harvest time. 
There are many breeds of pigeons, but, 
for squab raising, homers are quite the best. 
The young common pigeon weighs only six 
to eight ounces at market age, and is hard 
to sell at a dollar a dozen. The 
homer at the same age, weighs from 
twelve to twenty ounces, and is a 
plump, appetizing morsel that 
sells quickly. Good stock will 
cost $2 a pair. Remem- 
ber that it is no use to 
buy birds that are not 
mates, for pigeons remain in pairs for years 
unless separated, and if a couple are parted, 
they often refuse to mate again that season. 
One unmated male will break up most of the 
other couples; so be sure and deal with a 
very reliable person when purchasing your 
stock. Returns come so quickly, you can 
afford to be generous in your outlay. 

48 




A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

As soon as the pigeons become accustomed 
to their new quarters, the hen will lay two 
eggs, with a day between. Incubation takes 
eighteen days. Young squabs are market- 
able when thirty days old. Before then, 
the second nest has two eggs hatching by the 
mother bird. This is why it is necessary 
for each pair to have two nests. 

Pigeons have one great advantage over other 
poultry for the amateur, they are among the 
few domestic fowls that feed their own young. 
Both male and female have the power to 
secrete a digestive substance, sometimes called 
" pigeon's milk," on which they feed the nest- 
lings exclusively, at first, adding gradually 
hard grain, until the young are strong enough 
to find for themselves. 

Feeding the old ones is quite a simple 
matter. Cracked corn, Canada peas, or 
Kafir-corn are all good for them; in fact, 
the three grains mixed and fed daily make 
a good staple diet. For other feeds, use 
wheat, hemp-seed, and, one day in the week, 
^ 49 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

stale bread. Let there be plenty of grit 
with all the feed, and see that there is always 
a boxful in the yard and house, and another 
of broken-up rock-salt. 

The house and nests must be kept abso- 
lutely clean. Go the rounds once a week 
and remove all droppings (to be carefully 
saved, of course, for fertilizing). Empty the 
bedding from each nest from which squabs 
have been taken, giving the earthen dish a 
w^ash in hot water and soda. Wash out the 
compartments the nests were in, with white- 
wash. When dry, return the nest to its 
place, and put a small handful of tobacco 
stems or pine needles into it. They make a 
soft foundation for the egg, and destroy 
vermin. 

The laws in many states prohibit keeping 
game in cold storage or shipping quail to 
market. This makes squabs and young 
guinea-fowls in eager demand by clubs, hotels, 
and restaurants. If you start with two or 
three pairs, and keep all the progeny, you 

50 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

should have a goodly number by the follow- 
ing year, as they begin to breed at six months. 
I once read a calculation which went to prove 
that, all going well, twelve pairs of birds, at 
the end of a year, would have multiplied to 
nine hundred and sixty. An old squab 
raiser who never keeps less than eight hun- 
dred breeders declares that a thousand 
homers, correctly handled, will yield an 
annual income of $1200. 

Hens must be kept perpetually busy, or 
health and the egg-basket will suffer. Hence 
the necessity for a bountiful supply of clean 
material on the floors of their houses during 
cold weather, when most of their exercise 
must be taken under cover. Nothing in- 
duces so much activity and apparent enjoy- 
ment amongst the imprisoned flock, as a 
bagful of autumn leaves; so gathering and 
storing them should be among the first things 
to claim attention after settling on the farm. 
There are many bright days in November, 
when such work in the woods is pure delight. 

51 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

If black walnuts or butternuts are to be 
found, they will lend a real old-fashioned 
country touch to the Yule-log season. Don't 
remove the pithy green coats, for they pre- 
serve the nutty flavor, if left on until the nuts 
are required for use. Surplus nuts and pig 
hickories should all be collected, if time per- 
mits ; for in midwinter they will afford the 
hens amusement, if crushed in the bone-mill 
and fed occasionally at noon. 

Inquiry will reveal some farmer in the 
neighborhood, who has been growing cab- 
bage in large quantities. He is sure to have 
a surplus load or two of heads too small for 
market, that can be bought at this season of 
the year for one-half the winter price. Hens 
need green food as much as grain. There 
are many ways of storing, but we have found 
that packing in conical heaps, heads down, 
and protecting with leaves, or bedding-hay 
and brush, answers very well, if care is taken 
not to cover too heavily at first. It would be 
wise to interrogate the old residents in your 

52 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

immediate neighborhood, as to method and 
season ; for all such work as this must be 
controlled by climatical conditions, which, of 
course, vary in every state. 



THE GARDEN 

Few of the farms to be rented or bought 
cheaply have good vegetable gardens. If 
such is your experience, select a strip of land 
as conveniently situated to the house as 
suitability of ground will permit, and have 
it ploughed at once, so that the frost and air 
have an opportunity to disintegrate and mel- 
low the clods of earth. 

In choosing the site, remember that a 
slight slope to the south or southeast is de- 
sirable. Size must depend very much on 
whether you intend having a separate berry 
patch or not. A hundred feet by seventy- 
five feet will supply an average small family 
with vegetables for the table, excepting win- 
ter potatoes, which should come from the 

53 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

field crops. Protection from the northeast 
storms should be provided. Cedar or privet is 
the ideal hedge for such purposes, but it takes 
money and time; so, whilst it is developing, 
resort to the serviceable brush hurdle fence. 

The fall ploughing should be deep, so as 
to open the subsoil. This applies to farm 
land, as well as to garden. It is also desir- 
able to erect posts all around the ground, 
because there is more time now than in the 
spring, when a thousand things all clamor 
for attention at once. Moreover, the ground 
is in a better condition to dig and pack firmly 
around the posts, than in the spring, when 
perpetual alternation between frost and thaw 
is to be expected. 

Orchard trees and small fruits may be 
trimmed as advantageously now as in the 
spring. Even the utterly inexperienced man 
or boy can go through the orchard and cut 
off sprouts or suckers around the trees, and 
on the trunks and main branches. Pruning 
needs practical knowledge; so the first year 

54 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

either employ a reliable man for a few days, 
or depend on the safe tidying referred to 
above. Blackberries and raspberries can be 
safely cut back to the conveniently controlled 
height of two and a half or three feet, and the 
old canes trimmed out, as both bear their 
fruit on the growth made in the spring. 
Grapes should retain the main or conducting 
stalk, for which arms one or two feet apart 
may be conducted on a trellis. Shoots from 
these arms should be cut back to about two 
inches, for it is the new growth from these 
on which the fruit will be borne. Currants 
and gooseberries must have any really old- 
looking branches cut out, as only one- or 
two-year-old wood is fruitful. 

November is too late to plant out new 
strawberry beds, but old ones will be im- 
proved by trimming the rows into uniform 
width and cultivating the earth between. 
Before the end of the month, cover the whole 
bed with hay or straw, and a few corn stalks 
or cedar boughs to keep it in place. 

55 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

If there is an asparagus bed, cut all the 
seed-stalks down, carry away, and burn at 
once. The ground between the rows will 
require spading well, levelling the earth down 
off the rows until not more than two inches 
is left on the asparagus crowns. Until two 
years ago we had followed the old-fashioned 
custom of protecting the beds with manure 
or straw; but a report of the good results 
obtained at the New Jersey Agricultural 
Experiment Station prompted our adopting 
the new method, which has been most 
satisfactory. 

Rhubarb is nearly always to be found on 
a farm. Dig up the roots, if any one in the 
family has as yet inhaled enough pure air to 
provide the necessary strength to wield a 
grub-hoe; for nothing else can dislodge the 
huge, knobby boulders of what looks like 
iron ore, which many years of undisturbed 
growth creates. Leave them lying on the 
surface exposed to any frost that may visit 
you, for about a week. Then select a few 

5Q 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

moderate sized roots, and transfer to the 
cellar. We cut empty sugar barrels in half, 
arranged them in a dark corner of the cellar, 
placed the rhubarb roots in them, packing 
sand all around the root until the half-tub 
was full. Thus treated, they yielded a boun- 
tiful supply of stalks in January and Febru- 
ary. The other roots can be split up into 
pieces about a foot square, and replanted 
two feet apart, in rows three feet apart. 

Celery, carrots, and such vegetables for 
home use are best kept in wooden trenches 
ten inches wide and twelve inches deep, to 
be divided by a partition of wood every two 
or three feet; so preventing the vegetables 
heating, as they would if the entire length of 
the trench was left unbroken. We have one 
cellar lined by tiers of these receptacles. 
Dry, sandy mould, to the depth of about 
three inches, is put into the bottom of each 
for the roots to stand in, so keeping the stalks 
or tubers upright, as when growing. Pack 
as closely as possible, and the contents will 

57 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

last, firm and unwithered, until March. Egg 
or orange boxes can be utilized instead of 
making trenches, if they are well lined with 
newspapers. 

Potting mould will be required in Febru- 
ary, when it is difficult to procure unfrozen 
materials; so should be prepared now, and 
stored in barrels in the barn or cellar. Leaf- 
mould from the woods is excellent filling for 
seed boxes, but if distance and weight render 
it impracticable, make a compost of dried 
leaves, sod, earth, sand, and old stable drop- 
pings, a two-inch layer of each alternated 
until a depth of three feet is collected. Pack 
down tightly, water slightly, and leave for a 
week or so. Then work over with a manure 
fork, until very thoroughly mixed. Repeated 
two or three days, this will result in extremely 
good potting mould to store in your barrels 
until spring. 



58 



CHAPTER IV 

DECEMBER 

nnRY to buy the cow this month for two 
^ reasons : first, a good cow which is going 
to calve in February or March will cost less 
than a poor one in March or April. Secondly, 
the yield of milk is on the decrease, making 
the night and morning task of emptying the 
udder easier for the amateur; and should 
it not be accomplished very completely it 
would not be a very serious catastrophe, as 
when the cow is in full milk. 

Of course a perfect cow stable is impossible 
for a beginner without capital, but a very 
good sanitary stall can be arranged in an 
old stable for a few dollars. Our cow barn 
was a large shed with an open haymow above, 
and individual stalls for thirteen cows ar- 
ranged along the back; the sides, half door, 

59 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and ceiling of which were made of hardwood, 
so they were scoured with strong lye, and 
dried, shining examples of cleanliness. The 
floors were next graded half a foot to the back, 
where a gutter a foot wide and deep was 
built by inserting three boards below the sur- 
face, with a tile drain-pipe at the end, to con- 
duct the liquid to a barrel which was to be 
sunk into the ground outside the shed. Scour- 
ing, grading, making the gutter, and sinking 
the barrel cost $3, as a man was hired for 
two days. 

The earth floor did not meet my ideas of 
cleanliness, and for a few days it puzzled and 
worried me. Then I read an account of how 
"stone" gate-posts could be made out of 
Portland cement. This suggested trying a 
coat for the stable floor. A bag of cement 
was bought, and I proceeded to "flag" my 
cow stable, and succeeded. To family and 
friends it seemed a wonderful accomplish- 
ment. Really, it was as easy and amusing 
an occupation as making mud pies in pinafore 

60 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

days. A board six inches wide, and long 
enough to reach from the gutter to the front 
of the stable, was found and placed a foot 
from the side wall. The cement was mixed 
according to directions, poured into the space 
behind the board, quickly smoothed over 
the surface with a trowel, and left for twenty- 
four hours to harden. Then the board was 
moved down another foot and the flooring 
process repeated, until the whole floor was 
covered. By placing the board one inch 
from each of the sides of the gutter, it was 
possible to give it a "stone" surface. Two 
boxes, one for water, the other for feed, were 
treated in a like manner. The whole cost 
was $6, and we had a stable easily cleaned, 
the most important consideration for the home 
of Cush. 

There are many and doubtless better 
methods of feeding, but ours answers very 
well, for our cows give plenty of milk, and are 
healthy. From October to April, night and 
morning, a big pail of hay, or corn stalks 

61 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

which have been chopped into inch lengths; 
three quarts of boiling water poured over it, 
and allowed to steam. The night feed is 
prepared soon after breakfast; the morning 
feed, before retiring at night. Two quarts 
of ground food are mixed through it just 
before feeding. At noon a bundle of hay or 
corn stalks is given, four times in the week. 
The other three, half the quantity of stalks, 
and a pailful of chopped pumpkins or beets. 
Rock-salt and water are always within reach. 

Three times a week a cow should be given 
a thorough dry scrub with a stiff brush, to 
keep her skin in good condition. For bedding, 
use either shavings or straw. If the latter, 
put it through the feed cutter for convenience, 
when it is added to the fertilizing compound. 
Have the stable cleaned before the milking 
is done in the morning. 

Instead of the ordinary milking pail with 
a spout and strainer, which is difficult to 
keep clean, we use a plain agate water pail, 
which has no crevices for microbes to collect 

62 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

in. Our strainer is made to order, and is 
like a shallow colander with a wire gauze 
bottom, over which a piece of doubled cheese- 
cloth is spread before using, of course to be 
washed and scalded after each straining. 

Insist on the pail being brought to the 
house as soon as milking is over. The milk 
must be strained at once into shallow pans. 
Next year, when two cows are kept, a cream 
separator will do away with the pans; but 
at first such a luxury would be an extrava- 
gance. Keep the pans in an even tempera- 
ture in a perfectly clean milk room, or light 
cellar, where no other food is kept; because 
milk, cream, and butter readily absorb odors 
which destroy purity and flavor. 

The night milk we skim the next morning, 
so that there is fresh cream for the morning 
cereal, and plenty of milk for the day's cook- 
ing. The morning milk is left for twenty- 
four or thirty-six hours, and then skimmed, 
the cream going into the jar kept for the pur- 
pose, and the clabbered milk turned into pot 

63 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

cheese. In winter we churn once a week; 
in summer, twice. Every time a new skim- 
ming is added, stir the contents of the jar 
two or three times around ; it assists the work 
on churning day. 

Cleanliness must be rigidly observed. 
Have a dish-cloth and scrubbing-brush kept 
exclusively for the dairy implements. As 
soon as the milk is strained, the pail and 
strainer must be rinsed with cold water, then 
scrubbed with hot water; but no soap should 
be used. Rinse thoroughly with boiling 
water, and set in the sun and air to dry and 
sweeten. Before it is used again, rinse with 
cold water. Insist on the milker washing 
his or her hands before milking. Should 
the cow's bag be at all soiled, wash off with 
warm water, and dry with a soft, clean 
cloth. The pans must be washed like the 
pail, but also scoured with salt to remove all 
particles of stale cream. The churn and all 
the wooden things should be scoured in cold 
water and salt, rinsed, and aired in the shade, 

64 




The Right Way to squeeze out the Buttermilk 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



and rinsed in scalding water just before 
using. 

Remember that milk is one of the most 
wholesome, nourishing foods on earth when 
"pure, but that it is perhaps the most danger- 
ous if exposed to any bad odors or conditions 
of decay; for then it attracts 
and develops every kind of 
wretched little microbe. 

Churning, like milking, can 
only be suggested on paper ; 
the understanding of personal 
experience being required be- 
fore reliable knowledge can be 
acquired. If the weather is 
very cold, the cream jar should 
be carried into the kitchen an 
hour or so before churning. 
Half fill the churn with boiling water, and 
let stand a few minutes, and pour out just 
before emptying the cream into the churn. 
Then agitate the cream evenly and not 
too heavily for fifteen minutes when, if the 




A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

temperature is right, the cream will have 
commenced to congeal. Continue a little 
more slowly, until the particles gather into 
lumps the size of hickory nuts; after which 
a few very slow movements of the dasher will 
collect them into two or three large pieces 
of convenient size to remove from the 
churn. 

Before commencing to churn, pour very 
hot water into the wooden bowl; lay the ladle 
and pats into it. Empty the water; then 
scoop the butter out of the churn into the 
bowl, and proceed to press out all the butter- 
milk with the back of the ladle. Don't rub, 
but press down against the bowl, making 
waves in the mass of butter. Then double 
the sides and ends up into the centre, making 
it into a solid lump again, which is to be 
pressed out as before, running the butter- 
milk out of the bowl each time. Repeat 
four or five times, or until no more liquid 
can be squeezed out. Then flatten evenly 
over the bowl, sprinkle with salt, the quan- 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

tity, of course, depending on individual taste. 
Work over again once or twice to distribute 
the salt; then shape as desired for use. 



THE HORSE AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT 

Though our horse was not acquired through 
the economy or profits of the country home, 
I am going to explain how she material- 
ized and how we learned to care for her, 
because it may be valuable to people fortu- 
nate enough to possess nice, chummy rela- 
tives, or blessed personally with sufiicient 
surplus cash to add this very necessary 
animal to the stock, without waiting for the 
pennies to accumulate. 

About the middle of the first December we 
were on the farm, a nice mare, two-wheeled 
road cart, and harness were for sale. Time 
of the year, style of the cart, and the fact that 
the owners would only let the mare go to 
people sure to give her a comfortable home, 
made the price so wonderful that I bemoaned 

67 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

not being able to take advantage of the bar- 
gain. Unknown to me, my family all com- 
bined forces, and on Christmas morning, 
when I went into the barn, I was surprised 
by her whinnying a cheery season's greeting. 
Poor old Dolly ! She had to wait some time 
for her breakfast, for my pleased delight did 
not permit practical, everyday necessities like 
food being remembered, until a sharp stamp 
of impatience from my new possession re- 
called me to a sense of the responsibilities 
of ownership. I could ride and drive, but 
knew little of administering to a horse's real 
wants, and the boy, my general assistant, 
knew less. But where " there's a will there's 
a way." In a visit to a near-by stock-farm, 
the owner of which we had become friendly 
with, lots of useful hints were picked up, and 
practically applied to Dolly's welfare. 

Hitching up, like most new undertakings, 
was fraught with amusing blunders. A 
saddle and breeching are innocent looking 
straps when on a horse's back, but the mo- 

68 



NiY- 




Ploughing — Currying 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ment a poor amateur takes them down from 
a hook and attempts to adjust them, a Chinese 
puzzle is simple to the conglomeration they 
present. Nothing but the study of a har- 
ness-maker's catalogue which happened to 
be in the house would have enabled me to 
straighten out the tangle. Then, when it 
came to the bridle, finding the right place for 
Dolly's ears drove her nearly frantic. When 
at last it was found, the English collar would 
not go over the bridle ; so it had all to be done 
over again. Dolly not being an angel horse, 
the drive following these blunders was ex- 
citingly memorable; yet when we came home 
there was a feeling of comradeship between 
"my horse and me" that removed all diffi- 
culties. 

From this time on, Dolly, by a hundred 
clever devices known only to dumb animals, 
made me understand what she had been 
accustomed to. For instance, when Satur- 
day evening came and I gave her oats, she 
sniffed, pawed the floor, then, finding she 

69 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

was not understood, put her nose into the 
oats and deliberately began to push them out 
of the feed box. I looked to see if anything 
was wrong, saw nothing, and put in some 
more oats, for her only to repeat the panto- 
mime. Being stupidly dense, I came to the 
conclusion that she was not hungry and 
ceased to bother, commencing to measure out 
the cow's feed which was kept in the barn. 
Instantly Dolly whinnied and stretched out her 
head. At last I comprehended. She wanted 
mash, not oats. It was mixed and given to 
her, and eaten greedily. During the next 
week I hunted up the man who had worked 
for Dolly's old master and cross-examined 
him about all such details, to find that she 
had been accustomed to mash on Saturday 
evening, and several other small oddities of 
diet, as a pet, had been allowed her. 

A medium-sized and not too lightly built 
horse should be chosen for general purposes 
on a small farm, so that potatoes, corn, and 
such crops can be cultivated next summer 

70 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

without hiring extra help. Don't trust en- 
tirely to appearances when purchasing; try 
to glean some disinterested opinions to guide 
you. Country folks gossip about horses 
as much as summer-resort visitors do about 
the latest arrival. 

The stable should be light, well ventilated, 
and free from draughts. Bed deeply at night, 
cutting as for the cow's stable, if time will 
permit. Either give your horse a box-stall, 
leaving it loose to lie as it pleases, or a narrow 
stall with a tie rope or chain arranged to work 
on a pulley and counterweight, so remov- 
ing the danger of the horse getting chain or 
rope under its leg when lying down, to hobble 
the poor beast when getting up again. A 
stall too wide may tempt a horse to roll. 
Then the restricted space prevents it being 
able to regain its balance, and severe accidents 
are the results. Therefore, allow no medium 
in your horse's sleeping apartment, for in 
this instance it would not be happy or safe. 

Grooming is of the utmost importance. 
71 



A SELF-SUPPOHTING HOME 

An old cavalry soldier, who begged a night's 
shelter and stayed with us a whole summer, 
gave me many valuable lessons on this sub- 
ject. First, don't bring a horse out of the 
warm stable and ruthlessly strip off a thick 
blanket, exposing the whole body to the cold, 
whilst you work with the slow movements 
of the inexperienced. Instead, unstrap the 
front of the blanket and turn it half-way back. 
Then, being careful not to slap the curry- 
comb on to the horse, work as quickly as a 
firm, even, but light pressure will permit, 
much as you would use a flesh-brush on your 
own body. Every few minutes rap the side 
of the currycomb sharply against the floor 
or wall. The collection of dust and dan- 
druff-like powder which will fall out from 
between the teeth must awaken any one to 
the necessity of cleaning a horse thoroughly 
and regularly. 

After the currying is accomplished, take 
up the brush and rub, scrub, and polish 
until the hair shines. Then replace the front 

72 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

of the blanket, turning up the back half over 
the shoulders, until the hind quarters match 
the front in shimmering cleanliness. Tail 
and mane require a coarse comb and brush, 
sold especially for the purpose. Next, wring 
a sponge out of warm water and wipe the 
horse's face, removing any lodgement at the 
corners of the eyes or mouth. Keep a rough, 
clean cloth for drying and polishing the face, 
or a moderately hard brush. Never use a 
currycomb or large brush on the face, for 
it is difficult to avoid catching the bristles 
against the eyes or lips. Pick up each foot 
in turn and with a blunt, smoothly rounded 
piece of iron or steel clean out the hoof, 
being careful not to injure the soft, gristly 
growth in the centre, which forms the frog. 

Cultivate the habit of talking to your horse 
when cleaning, hitching, or feeding. No 
matter how good a man you may have, lose 
no time in acquiring the knowledge that will 
enable you to intelligently care for your 
horse should the necessity arise. Make it a 

73 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

rule at grooming tirae to take the horse some 
treat, — a carrot, a lump of sugar, or piece of 
bread, — whichever may be its individual pref- 
erence. It makes the horse friendly, checks 
any chance of neglect or impatient temper 
on the part of the man being visited on the 
horse; moreover, it enables you to give the 
day's orders without loss of time to either. 

Your rations are four quarts of oats and six 
pounds of hay, night and morning; noon, 
two quarts of oats, varied by a bran mash 
on Saturday night, made by pouring one 
quart of scalding water on to four quarts of 
wheat bran, into which a tablespoonful of 
salt has been mixed. Prepare at noon, which 
gives it plenty of time to steam and become 
nearly cold before supper, as all mash feed 
should be barely warm when fed. Our 
horse and cattle have water always before 
them. If your stabling does not permit 
that, water twenty minutes before feeding; 
and when the weather is very cold, take the 
extreme chill off the water before offering it 

74 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

to the stock. Allow a horse one hour for 
breakfast, and not less than half an hour 
for dinner. Punctual meal hours, sufficient 
time in which to consume the food, and a 
few minutes undisturbed rest afterward in- 
sure health and willing work. 

A horse travelling two or three miles a day 
should be shod every six weeks. After the 
first of December it is safer to keep your 
horse rough shod; else, some morning, the 
commuter may miss his train because the 
ground is so slippery it is difficult for the horse 
even to walk. After driving, let the horse 
stand half an hour before feeding or watering. 
Be thoughtful and kind to your horse, and 
it will be the greatest help and pleasure to 
your home. 

RABBITS 

White rabbits are the best to start the pet 
stock branch of the farm, because they do 
not cost more than a dollar each when of 
mature age, and there is always a ready mar- 

75 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ket for the young ones in every large city; 
dealers being willing to pay 25 cents apiece 
at all times, and from 50 to 75 cents at 
Easter. Mrs. Bunny usually rears five fami- 
lies during the year, making an average of 
thirty little ones, which, counting minimum 
prices, makes it safe to estimate a $6 addition 
to the home income for every mother rabbit. 

Each doe should have a hutch two and a 
half feet long, two feet wide, and two high. 
We get the empty cases in which shoes are 
shipped to the general store in the village, 
at a cost of 5 cents each. By turning 
them on the side, a hutch of just the right 
dimensions is obtained, needing only a door, 
the frame of which can be easily made from 
shingle slates. Cut two pieces the exact 
length of the case, two pieces the exact width, 
rule a pencil line two inches from each end, 
place a fine saw lengthwise over the line, and 
cut the lath evenly half through its thickness. 
Then, with a sharp pocket-knife or chisel, 
remove the severed portion; so making the 

76 



1 

1 


1 


> 

{ 

m 

'1 


•i**^ 


•^^^M 


fe 





A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

corners join without either side of the frame 
being uneven. I believe in carpenter's ver- 
nacular the process is referred to as a "mor- 
tise joint." When the frame is finished, 
cover with one-inch wire netting, and attach 
to the bottom of the hutch by hinges placed 
four inches from each end. A screw hook 
and eye at the top make a secure fastening. 
Bore three holes, half an inch in diameter, 
in the back corners of the floor of the hutch, 
and it is ready for its furnishings, which con- 
sist of a nest box fourteen by twelve inches 
in size, with an arched hole seven inches high 
and four wide cut in the front, and two small 
pans for feed and water. Brown earthen 
butter crocks, or the zinc dishes used in 
parrots' cages, are the best. If the latter 
are chosen, screw-eyes must be put into the 
side of the hutch in which to hook the pans. 
A row of such rabbit houses can be kept in 
the barn or woodshed, if a bench two feet 
high is made of rough boards for them to 
stand on. When placing the hutches, let 

77 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

them slant slightly to the back, so that all 
moisture may drain through the holes. 

Five does and a buck are sufficient to com- 
mence with. Put each into a separate hutch, 
and after they become accustomed to their sur- 
roundings let each doe in turn visit the buck's 
hutch for a few hours or a day. Should 
they fight viciously, return the doe to her own 
hutch until the next week. Never risk putting 
the buck into a doe's hutch, for they usu- 
ally resent the intrusion with tooth and nail. 

Soon after Mrs. Bunny returns to her own 
hutch, she will commence to gather up the 
bedding in her mouth and carry it into the 
nest box. When it is filled with the hay, 
she hollows out a round hole in the centre, 
which she then lines with fur pulled from 
her own body. After thirty days it will be 
occupied by sightless, furless little creatures; 
but not a hint will Mrs. Bunny give you of 
the fact until, the nine days of infantile ugli- 
ness being past, she allows them to run out 
into the hutch for a few minutes at a time. 

78 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Then you may chance to get a glimpse of 
one hurrying out of sight when you go to 
feed them; but not until the sixteenth day 
do they really play about and eat solid food. 

When six weeks old, all the babies can be 
taken away from the mother and placed in 
a large hutch for two or three weeks, to 
gain strength and self-reliance before leaving 
home. 

If you wish to increase your stock, keep 
one or two baby does from each family. They 
can be kept together in one hutch until four 
months old, after which they should be 
allowed to have individual establishments. 
This will, of course, necessitate the purchase 
of another buck to prevent in-breeding. 
After successful results have made you an 
enthusiast on the rabbit subject, there are 
many varieties which can be gradually added 
to the establishment; but don't attempt 
Himalayans or Dutch until you have mas- 
tered some of the problems of paternal 
influences on color and markings. 

79 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The floor of the hutch should have a thick 
layer of sawdust, common bedding hay, or 
dried leaves — whichever is easiest to pro- 
cure. It doesn't matter, so long as the 
hutches are thoroughly well cleaned out 
twice a week, and Mrs. Bunny is provided 
with bedding for nest building. Avoid 
touching the small box when cleaning, after 
the doe commences to fill it, until the babies 
are three weeks old. Then empty out the 
nest and replace with loose hay. Give the 
does clean, empty bedrooms a week after 
each family is taken away from them. 

When obtainable, their principal food 
consists of the lawn cuttings, clover, plan- 
tain, dandelion, oak leaves, lettuce, the cob 
leaves of sweet corn, — in fact, almost all 
garden stuffs, — and a small handful of oats 
once a day. In winter give hay, oats, and 
corn mixed, apples, carrots, tops of celery, 
etc. Avoid turnips or cabbage, because they 
make the odors from the hutches very dis- 
agreeable; and cabbage is dangerous for 

80 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

young rabbits, giving them what is called 
*'pot belly," usually meaning sudden death. 
The safest rule about all vegetable food 
is to watch the droppings, which should 
be dry, round pellets. If they are soft or 
run together, stop greens or grass, feeding 
only hay and oats. Give weak, cold tea 
instead of water to drink. A piece of stale 
bread or dry toast is also good. A doe should 
have a little bread and milk each day, from 
the time she begins to build her nest until 
the babies are three weeks old. Carrots 
are also especially good for her during this 
time. A week before the little ones are taken 
from her, feed a sprig of parsley every other 
day, so preventing any fear of milk fever. 
When the acorns commence to fall, collect 
a supply and keep in a large glass jar for 
occasional distribution during the winter, 
for they are an excellent tonic and keep the 
stock in good health. A piece of oak or 
spruce with the bark on will be greedily 
stripped if put into the hutch during the 
^ 81 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

spring and fall. Once a week all the year 
round add a pinch of salt to the drinking 
water, which must be supplied fresh every 
day. Rabbits are thirsty animals, and neglect 
to provide them with an abundant water 
supply is dire cruelty. 

Only a little less cruel is the custom of 
lifting rabbits by their ears. Just imagine 
what the torture must be when the entire 
weight of the animal's body is suspended 
from such a sensitive nerve centre as the ear. 
The strain to the spine is so great that the 
lightest blow will instantly cause death. The 
correct way to lift all the rabbit family is by 
the skin directly over the shoulders, which 
draws up the hide evenly all over the body, 
so distributing the weight and preventing 
their struggling. The baby fellows I lift up 
bodily between both hands, having found it 
much the easiest and best way. 

Rabbits make such amusing pets that I 
advise you to- select one and allow it to have 
the liberty of the lawn and house. Don't 

82 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

imagine that their natural habits make this 
impossible. I had a Belgian hare which 
was thoroughly housebroken, and now we 
have a white gentleman who scratches at 
the door when he wishes to come in, and at 
breakfast time will jump on my knee and eat 
his oatmeal and cream, jumping down and 
trotting off when we leave the dining-room, 
unless the day is very cold or wet, when he 
lies down before the fire with the cats and 
dogs and takes a comfortable siesta. 

MUSHROOMS 

The owner of a well-ventilated cellar, either 
in town or country, can provide the table with 
mushrooms. It is strange that so few people 
attempt to grow these delicious and nutri- 
tious vegetables, for really nothing is easier. 
Even before we became farmers we grew 
these valuable foods. With the flat we oc- 
cupied went two bins in the cellar, one for 
coal, the other for wood or storage, the latter 

83 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

we used as a mushroom house. As it was 
near the heater that supplied hot water, 
just the atmosphere needed was provided. 
Around the top of the bin were open slats, 
and the cellar was so exceptionally well ven- 
tilated that fresh air circulated freely — one 
of the imperative conditions for success. Any 

dark place where the 
temperature will not fall 
below fifty-five will an- 
swer the purpose as a 
makeshift quarters in 
which to raise enough 
of this famous food 
fungus for home consumption. Once again, 
recourse can be had to the ever valuable 
grocery store for some cases; about two feet 
wide and one deep is a convenient size. 
They can stand on the ground and in tiers 
above, so space can be well economized. 

Our first trial was made in a box three 
feet long, and of the above width and depth. 
We bought a single pound of spawn at 15 

84 





Jacko, who comes 



AND GOES AS HE LlKES 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

cents, planted it, and gathered in ten pounds 
in February, when they were at 50 cents a 
pound in the market. The compost to fill 
the boxes is composed of fresh stable drop- 
pings and mould from sod ground in pro- 
portions of two pails of the former to one of 
the latter. Our janitor procured and mixed 
it for us for a dollar. Put a layer about 
four inches thick all over the box, pat it down 
evenly, then add another layer, and that 
down until you reach a depth of eight inches. 
Insert a thermometer. In two or three days, 
the heat will rise to a hundred or over, and 
then decline again. When it reaches ninety, 
make holes about an inch in diameter, six 
inches deep and a foot apart, all over the 
box, into which drop pieces of the spawn 
about as big as a thimble. Smooth over 
the top to fill up the holes, pat down 
smooth again, wait ten or twelve days, 
then top dress with two inches of fresh loam 
all over the surface. Press down smoothly, 
sprinkle very lightly with water, and cover 

85 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

with three or four inches of cut hay, straw, 
or leaves. 

From five to six weeks later, you should be 
able to gather a good supply. This bed will 
continue to yield during three or four weeks. 
Then remove the straw, add another two 
inches of fresh earth, sprinkling and recover- 
ing, when another crop will start. Later, when 
the "home" is paying sufficient dividends to 
build a proper mushroom house, I shall explain 
more advanced methods of running what is a 
really profitable branch of fancy farming. 

HINT FOR SALADS 

Place three boxes a foot and a half wide, 
two feet long, and four inches deep, on an old 
table in a south or southwest window. Sow 
half of each box with mustard seed (sometimes 
called pepper grass) and the other half with 
cress seed. Allow four days between the 
sowing of each box, and after ten days you 
have a succession of material for adding to 
salads or sandwiches all through the winter. 

86 



CHAPTER V 

JANUARY 
HONEY BEES AS WAGE-EARNERS 

XF the rent of the farm selected for the 
-^ self-supporting home is $15 or $20 a 
month less than the apartment or house 
occupied in the city, remember that, after 
deducting the "Goodman's" commutation 
ticket, every cent for the first few months 
must be devoted to purchasing the nucleus 
of the stock which is to render the home 
self-supporting. After the hens, ducks, and 
pigeons are established, money can be de- 
voted to guinea-fowls and bees, two members 
of a farm colony which bring heavy loads of 
grist to the mill, and demand little in return. 
Few city people realize that apiculture 
has developed into a practical money-making 
industry during the last twenty years, until 

87 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

now the average amount of honey put on the 
market each year is upward of a hundred 
million pounds, representing a money value of 
from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000. 

In a favorable locality one hive, with its 
average colony of thirty-five thousand workers 
and a queen, will turn out from thirty to forty 
pounds of honey, besides the fifteen or twenty 
necessary to feed the hive through the winter. 

A few hives, in an ordinary country dis- 
trict, should each bring in a clear $2 a year 
profit at the lowest estimate. On a poultry 
and fruit farm where clover, sunflower, and 
millet are grown for the poultry, the yield of 
honey should be much larger, if the apiary 
is restricted to twenty or thirty hives. Their 
care will infringe but little on working hours. 
They feed themselves, so expense is confined 
to the necessary new hives for the fresh col- 
onies, comb foundations, and other equally 
small outlays. 

If you commence by purchasing a colony 
and hive that has been well cared for during 

88 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the winter, they will come out strong in the 
spring, the queen will start laying again, and 
each day thousands of bees will be born, 
soon causing the hive to be so vastly crowded 
that the old queen and a swarm will issue 
from the parent hive, leaving the young col- 
ony in possession of the home and stores. 

If the old queen has had her wings prop- 
erly clipped the season before, she will not be 
able to fly, so will be found on the ground 
near the hive with a group of bees around her, 
and the principal swarm not very far away. 
Approach very quietly, and place a small 
wire trap over the queen (the traps are 
sold by all bee supply firms, and cost 25 
cents, I think). Then place the trap in the 
opening of the hive you desire the swarm to 
occupy, cautiously approach the full swarm, 
and with a soft broom sweep the bees into 
the hive, if the position they occupy makes 
it possible, as in the picture. If not, use a 
box or pan and carry them to the hive, and 
empty them in front. They will soon com- 

89 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

mence to occupy the new home. The slide 
of the queen trap can be opened, and the 
bees inside will settle down to business. 
Should the queen not have been clipped, 
the swarm may all go up in a tall tree, or 
even travel some distance and be lost, un- 
less some one is watching. For this reason, 
it is well to have the hives located where 
they are easily seen from the house, and make 
a rule to inspect once or twice every day 
during the early spring. When the swarm- 
ing fever has taken possession of the occu- 
pants, you will notice bees going in and out 
of the hive in a state of excitement, a sort of 
bustle that will convey the information that 
something unusual is going on inside the hive. 
You may wonder that I have said nothing 
about stings during this hiving process. The 
truth is, before leaving the old home, all 
the bees that are going out with the queen 
load themselves with so much honey to insure 
food for themselves and the royal mother, as 
well as with propolis, — a sort of gummy var- 

90 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

nish which they use to stop up cracks or 
cover rough surfaces, — that they are rarely 
able to sting; but if nervous, you can sub- 
ject the main bunch to a few whiffs of smoke. 
A queen never uses her lance except on a 
rival queen. This condition, of course, does 
not obtain at other times; so before such 
work as removing and replacing sections or 
foundations, the smoker must be lighted. 
When burning freely blow a few whiifs of 
smoke into the entrance and about the cor- 
ners of the hive. This stupefies the bees, and 
renders manipulation of them and an inva- 
sion of their domain comparatively safe; 
though it is always advisable to wear a veil 
made of mosquito netting, to fit on the hat 
and hanging well down on the shoulders. 
Gloves can also be worn. But the Italian 
bee, the best to keep, is such a gentle little 
creature that familiarity will end in the 
gloves being discarded. 

After the abdicating queen and her fol- 
lowing have left the old hive, there remain 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

some few thousands of imperfectly developed 
females of mature age, called "workers," a 
few^ hundred males called "drones," a few 
thousand young workers, and many thousands 
of eggs reposing each in its own particular 
cell. The most perfect system of govern- 
ment prevails in the hive, each individual 
insect having allotted duties, which are ap- 
parently intuitively understood, accepted, 
and conscientiously performed in unerring 
routine, from the hour of birth. When the 
baby breaks from its cell, it walks out into 
the busy world of the hive, and, after a few 
hours, dips into an unsealed cell of honey 
and sips its first meal, not, however, to be 
selfishly consumed by its own body, for the 
larger portion of this honey is secreted and, 
after a little, is converted into a predigested 
milky food, the quality of which this wonder- 
ful little nurse has the power of regulating 
as it wanders from cell to cell feeding the 
one-to-seven-days old larvae. Occupants of 
royal cells receive the most carefully digested 

92 





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food; next in quality come the workers; 
then the drones. At the end of six days, 
the cells are capped over by workers with 
a paper-like surface, and the well-fed, worm- 
like occupant is left for eleven or twelve 
days, during which time it develops shape 
and strength to gnaw its way out. After the 
six or seven days of nursing duty, come six 
or seven days of building combs and clean- 
ing the hive; and then, being strong enough, 
the worker commences gathering honey, a 
task so arduous during the summer that 
her life terminates within three months. 

The first young queen to issue from her 
cell after the old queen's abdication becomes 
the reigning sovereign, maintaining her right 
by might, tearing down all queen cells, and 
killing any young princesses who are making 
their entry into existence. For about a week 
she marches around, monarch of all she sur- 
veys, exempt from all toil or duty; then she 
issues from the hive, takes a few circles about, 
and returns. Probably on the same day, or 

93 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

on the day following, she will take what is 
called the nuptial flight, meet some drone in 
midair, and return some hours later to be- 
come sole mother of the hive, and to be so 
treasured by the colony that they feed her 
on royal jelly all her life, wash and tend her 
with the most jealous care. During every 
twenty-four hours of a good season, when 
honey and pollen are plentiful, a queen lays 
from two thousand five hundred to four 
thousand eggs. 

The drones, as the name implies, are lazy 
fellows, not even earning their own living, 
and are tolerated by the busy workers only 
during the summer of plenty, being ruth- 
lessly killed at the first approach of scarcity. 

Our apiary started with two hives and 
their dormant occupants, bought at an auc- 
tion for $3. Of course it was rather a 
reckless investment, because neither the 
auctioneer nor I knew anything about bees; 
therefore the contents of the hives was a pro- 
found secret. The price being so ridicu- 

94 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

lously small, it seemed wise to risk the chance 
of adding such busy workers to the home. 

I knew nothing about wintering bees, but 
as they were standing upon a bench in the 
orchard, I had them carefully lifted into a 
spring wagon, instructing the driver to walk 
his horses the mile and a half to our farm; 
which he did for one dollar. Not knowing 
just what protection was required, we put a 
large packing case on its side in a sheltered 
corner of the garden, and set the hives inside 
it. As the extreme cold weather commenced 
soon after, some boards were joined together 
by means of battens top and bottom, and 
stood up in front of the case, on which it 
rested at the top, sloping out a few inches on 
the ground, so that it kept the snow from 
drifting in, yet allowed ventilation. 

March 15 the boards were removed, and 
we watched with much anxiety for the bees 
to appear. Days went by and we were con- 
vinced that the hives were empty or the in- 
mates frozen to death, but on the last day of 

95 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the month, a few sleepy-looking bees emerged, 
flew about for a short time, and returned, 
evidently giving a favorable report of the 
weather, for the next day a continuous stream 
issued forth and hovered around the hives. 
Many of the winter evenings had been de- 
voted to studying bees and their care, so I 
had rudimentary knowledge enough to realize 
that as there was little, if any, natural food 
for them to gather, it would be advisable to 
mix a syrup of sugar and water, and put it 
into shallow dishes near the hives, the motive 
being to supply sufficient nourishment to 
stimulate brood rearing. 

Not knowing what knowledge the previous 
owner had possessed, the fear presented 
itself that the queens might not have had 
their wings cut, so, as I had no desire to lose 
a swarm or climb to impossible heights after 
them, I screwed up my courage and pre- 
pared to attempt the task of finding and 
clipping the royal ladies. I had no smoker, 
so a bundle of hay, slightly damped, was put 

96 




What the Bees give Us 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

into a five-pound lard pail, which had had a 
row of holes bored round the bottom and in 
the lid, so that, when the hay was lighted and 
the lid put on, it would just smoulder, making 
a dense smoke issue through the holes. The 
contrivance seemed all right, and there was 
smoke enough to blind me; yet when I 
cautiously removed the top of the hive and 
commenced to take out a frame, bees swarmed 
all over my head and shoulders. Fortu- 
nately, I retained sufficient presence of mind 
to remain perfectly quiet until the farm boy, 
who had been watching near by, got a large 
bundle of hay, fired it and almost roasted me 
before the bees were sufficiently stupefied 
to allow their being brushed off and the 
lid of the hive replaced, for the horrible com- 
bination of fright and smoke had rendered 
me quite incapable of further investigation. 

Through all this stupid blundering I only 
received one sting, but that so amply illus- 
trated what might happen that discretion 
seemed the better part of valor. I deter- 
^ 97 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

mined the hive should be left in peace until 
a real smoker was procured. Two weeks 
elapsed before the handy bellows-like machine 
arrived. It cost 75 cents, but the comfort 
of being able to puff as much smoke exactly 
where it was wanted, instead of into one's 
own eyes and throat, was worth many times 
the amount. 

Until I actually discovered the queen, it 
seemed doubtful that I should recognize or 
be able to handle her even if I did. How- 
ever, when seen, her noble ladyship cannot 
be mistaken. Her shape and color are so dif- 
ferent to all the others. The delicacy of her 
body makes handling her rather a nervous 
proceeding, but a little care and a pair of 
fine manicure scissors renders it possible for 
even such an amateur as I was to perform 
the operation without hurting her. 

When sending after the smoker, we ordered 
five hives "in the flat," which means the 
material all cut and ready to nail together. 
These cost $9.75, and were easily built, as 

98 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the proper-sized nails and instructions came 
with them. 

The first summer we had two swarms, 
one from each hive, early in the season. 
This being all the increase we cared for, a 
weekly examination was instituted to remove 
all sections filled with honey, as soon as the 
busy little workers had sealed them. Our 
first experience at wintering bees having 
been quite satisfactory, it has never been 
changed, except that the shelters are now 
made with slanting roofs like a chicken-house, 
and the last two winters being so extremely 
cold, hay has been packed round the hives. 

Any one living near New York should 
take advantage of the apiary established by 
the government in Van Cortlandt Park. It 
is well-stocked, and the keeper is there ex- 
pressly to answer questions and explain to 
interested visitors all the different conditions 
of the working bee colony. 

Philadelphia has the same advantage at 
the Root Apiary, situated near the toll-gate 

99 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

at Jenkintown. Here an appointment should 
be made two days ahead, to insure the keeper 
being in attendance. 

Even if you do not care to undertake 
another business, at least keep one colony 
for honey for home consumption. 



THE POULTRY YARD 

The breeding flocks must now be made 
up. If possible, confine every fifteen hens 
in separate enclosures, and for each two such 
enclosures buy three cockerels. Put one in 
each, and provide a small separate coop and 
yard for the third one, alternating the three 
birds each week. 

If thirty or forty hens mzist be kept together, 
buy six cockerels. Put three with the hens, 
and keep the other three all together in sli 
small yard, alternating each trio every week. 

If all the hens are running free, still alter- 
nate the males, for by doing so no favoritism 
can be shown. 

100 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

A variety of food is absolutely necessary 
for strongly fertilized germs from which 
vigorous, healthy chicks are sure to come. 

The best way to convince you of the 
advisability of following my coming sugges- 
tions for winter feeding will be to give, in a 
condensed and simple form, the chemical 
analysis of the egg : — 

Water 650 grains 

Albuminoids 80 grains 

Oil fat, etc 135 grains 

Mineral matter 9 grains 

Sugar, coloring matter, etc. . . 26 grains 

900 grains 

The remaining hundred parts of the thou- 
sand of an egg are used in the shell, which 
contains about fifty grains of salt of lime, and 
about fifty grains of pure uncombined lime 
(calcium oxide), the remainder being carbolic 
acid, water of crystallization, etc. 

Perhaps a short explanation of even this 
simple analysis may be helpful. Albumi- 
noids are the flesh-forming parts of food, 

101 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

usually alluded to as nitrogenous. Oil fat, 
etc., are merged under the heading of carbon, 
necessary for fat and warmth. Mineral 
matter consists of lime, soda, potash, mag- 
nesia, sulphur, etc. 

Please don't imagine that the simplifying 
process of this analysis is any reflection on 
your knowledge and understanding. It is 
prompted entirely by the hazy condition such 
reading matter used to leave my poor brain 
in, when I began seriously to study cause 
and effect in poultry culture. Experience, 
however, showed me the common sense of 
much that, at first, seemed theoretical jumble, 
because of the involved technical terms ; so 
as I read and digested different authorities, 
a notebook was compiled for my own use, 
containing the gist of each article, in the 
simplest terms possible, to convey the infor- 
mation. During the last nine years prac- 
tical tests of the value and benefit to be 
derived from each individual item have been 
made. When, as sometimes happened, a 

102 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

statement did not "prove," it was cut out; so 
now I flatter myself there is little left in the 
book which is not tested, tried and true, 
fully worthy of attention, for it will save you 
much groping in a wrong direction. 

Knowing the material necessary for the 
egg, no one ought to be foolish enough to 
expect Biddy to produce a goodly supply, 
unless she is provided with the necessary 
ingredients. Farmers complain that hens 
lay all the eggs in the spring, when they are 
hardly worth the trouble of marketing, but 
the moment the price goes up, they stop. 
Well, it's the farmer's fault. In the spring, 
hens that run loose get every element necessary 
to the formation of the egg, but in the cold 
weather insects and green foods are scarce, 
and want of material stops production. 

Having, I hope, convinced you of the 
common-sense advantage of balanced rations, 
the next consideration is what ordinary, 
farm-grown feeds best and most cheaply 
supply Biddy's wants. 

103 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

We will start with the foods which give 
the greatest quantity of lime, because it is 
needed for shell and some fractional part 
of the mineral matter in the white and yolk, 
which is most essential, as it is converted 
during incubation into bone for the develop- 
ing chicken. 

Clover hay, linseed meal, and wheat bran 
contain about six pounds of lime in every hun- 
dred pounds. Turnip tops, beets, carrots, and 
all grasses, also have a goodly percentage. 

Flesh comes from nitrogenous or albumenal 
foods, first of which are beef, linseed meal, 
middlings, bran, clover hay, oats, wheat, 
skimmed milk. Fat and heat we get from 
carbonaceous provenders, of which corn and 
buckwheat come first, closely followed by 
oats, wheat, rye, clover hay, linseed meal, and 
milk unskimmed. 

Mineral matter — lime, soda, potash, mag- 
nesia, sulphur — is principally formed by 
the action of digestion, reducing the matter 
containing these ingredients to ash. 

104 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The usual troubles assailing poultry on 
general farms come from the feeding of 
only one of any of these elements; so poor 
Biddy has to eat all flesh and no warmth, or 
all fat and no flesh. Kill a bird that has been 
fed on corn only, and it will be heavy with 
layers of internal fat, but showing a very poor 
depth of breast meat. Balancing rations — 
trying to equalize flesh, fat (warmth), and 
mineral — is not a very hard proposition when 
the values of even a few grains and plants 
are realized. 

Having read so far, you will now realize 
that clover hay, linseed meal, bran, wheat, 
oats, beef scraps, and skimmed milk con- 
tain almost all the equivalents for summer 
weather food. The addition, therefore, of 
corn, buckwheat, or rye in cold weather 
are safe and simple if given only as warmth 
makers. Never allow the proportion to 
exceed what is needed for that purpose, or 
fat will be made and stored internally, neu- 
tralizing all your other care. In other words, 

105 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the hen fed on corn only, in order to accu- 
mulate the ten parts of flesh and twenty 
parts of fat needed for the egg, will be com- 
pelled to acquire fifty parts more fat than 
she requires. 

Now do you see why corn is both danger- 
ous and expensive as an exclusive food, 
though as a fuel provider on a cold winter 
night it has few equals? 

Green bone and water alone now remain 
for consideration. The former is without 
doubt the best of egg foods, qualifying as it 
does in nearly all the needed elements. 
Fresh bone from the butcher can be bought 
for about two cents a pound, and contains 
the natural meat juices, — blood, gristle, oil, 
and mineral matter, — in soluble condition, 
which renders it easy of digestion, especially 
for birds. Almost all the components for 
eggs, — white, yolk, and shell, — in the most 
concentrated form, are there, so if eggs are 
to be profitable, it must not be neglected. 
When it is impossible to obtain the green or 

106 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

fresh bone, the ground, sold especially for 
poultry, can be used, though it is not half 
so satisfactory, because the drying process 
which it has to submit to before grinding 
leaves little but the phosphate of lime and 
earthy matter, which clover and bran fur- 
nish in a better form. At least half the egg 
is composed of water, surely reason sufficient 
for impressing the importance of a pure 
fresh supply, always accessible, in clean 
dishes. 

The foregoing will enable those who want 
to make up combinations, from materials 
at hand, which will include the necessary 
elements to select for themselves. 



THE GUINEA-FOWL 

A trio of ordinary guineas costs about $2, 
the pure white, $4 or $5. They need no 
special house, all that is necessary for their 
comfort being a roost high up in a shed. If 
left to themselves they take to the trees, and 

107 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

in all probability will get frozen if the winters 
should be very severe, so the safest plan with 
new birds is to cover the front of a shed with 
two-inch wire netting, just tacking it up 
lightly, so that it can easily be removed at 
the end of two or three weeks, when they 
are accustomed to their new quarters. 

While they are prisoners, feed the trio two or 
three times a day ; about half a pint of mixed 
wheat and cracked corn night and morning, 
and at noon about half the quantity of grain, 
with a little chopped meat or ground bone, 
alternating with vegetables. All this food 
should be cut quite small, or the guineas will 
not eat it. Like other birds, they must have 
a constant supply of sharp grit and fresh water. 

They are extremely shy, very wild, and 
suspicious of strange persons and places. 
Hence the necessity of their long imprison- 
ment. The old home once forgotten and 
the new one adopted, this very trait, which 
seems at first disadvantageous, renders them 
as valuable guardians of your property as 

108 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the watch dog, in fact, so far as the poultry 
is concerned, better, for they seem to pos- 
sess intuition of a hawk's approach, and 
their shrill cry frightens the chicken thieves 
more effectually than a gun. 

My stock began with a trio from which the 
first summer we raised thirty-two. We sold 
four pairs at six months old for a dollar a 
pair, used eight pairs on our table, and kept 
eight for stock. 

As a market commodity they have been 
growing in favor for the last five years, since, 
like squabs, they take the place of game 
during the closed season. 

Guinea-fowls commence laying when the 
first warm days come in April. As it is their 
natural instinct to be very secretive about 
laying, some patience and diplomacy are 
necessary to locate their nests. The usual 
spot selected is a hollow in the ground, by 
the root of a tree or fence post well screened 
by brush. Don't attempt to approach it 
while they are in sight. Go away, and re- 

109 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

turn later armed with a long-handled spoon. 
The eggs are almost the color of the earth 
and often covered with fallen leaves, so it 
needs a sharp eye to detect them. Be very 
careful not to touch the nest with your hand. 
Guineas seem able to scent the human hand 
about the nest, they can also count up to 
three. For that reason leave that number 
of eggs in the nest, removing the others 
with the spoon to insure there being no tell- 
tale clew left to arouse Mrs. Guinea's suspicion. 
When you have fifteen stolen eggs, get a 
box a foot square, turn it on the side, and 
across the bottom of the open front nail a 
slat, behind which place a nest of soft hay. 
Stand this nest box inside (at one end) of 
another box, two and a half feet long, with 
sides a foot or more deep. Make a cover 
of wire netting for the large box, to open like 
a lid. Scatter sand on the floor, nail up a 
small drinking pan in one corner, and you 
have a safe, rat-proof coop for Biddy and 
the eggs. Another motive for the outer box 

110 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

is that baby guineas are so very little, so wild, 
and so easily frightened, that they are apt 
to quit the nest as soon as hatched, get lost, 
become chilled, and die. 

It takes from twenty-five to twenty-six 
days to incubate guinea eggs. The brood 
coop to be used the first two weeks should 
be on the same principle as the nest boxes, 
and even when they are on the grass run, 
you must exercise the greatest caution to 
avoid anything like cracks and crevices in 
or around the sides, for they are such mites, 
and have such capacities for getting through 
the eyes of needles, that special care is nec- 
essary. If some knot-hole or some depres- 
sion in the ground has escaped your vigilance 
and a baby does stray off, go about two yards 
away and remain perfectly still. Don't be 
impatient. It may be ten minutes before 
you hear anything. Then, unless all hope 
is over, you will hear a plaintive little cry. 
Do not move until it has been repeated three 
or four times, and you are quite sure where 

111 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

it comes from. Then make a sudden dive 
and secure the truant, which is usually under 
a tuft of grass or in some little hole. If you 
move about while hunting for him, there 
won't be a sound, and you may search all 
day with little success. 



BILL OF FARE FOR BABY GUINEAS 

Give nothing for the first twenty-four 
hours, then the daily bill of fare should be as 
follows : First feed, 7 a.m. — Crushed hemp- 
seed, half a cup; stale bread crumbs, half a 
cup; moisten with raw eggs. 

Second feed, 9 a.m. — Millet seed. 

Third feed, 11.30 a.m. — Chopped onion 
tops, half a cup of corn meal that has been 
steamed as for chicks, half a teaspoonful of 
crushed mustard seed, mixed and fed crum- 
blingly. 

Fourth feed, 2 p.m. — Pinhead oats, 
crushed a little finer than it is when bought. 

Fifth feed, 5 p.m. — Liver that has been 
112 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

half-boiled, cracked wheat and corn, equal 
parts. 

These bills of fare can be varied with pot 
cheese, custard, chopped lettuce or apple, 
bread crumbs moistened with milk, hard- 
boiled eggs, but every day they must have 
meat (more than chicks need), and pepper 
or mustard seed crushed and fed in soft 
wood. Keep a small pan of powdered 
charcoal and sand in the run, and, of course, 
water in a drinking fountain that will allow 
only the beak to get wet. 

The first eggs I stole out of old "Coque- 
lin's" nest (that was the name we gave one 
of the first guineas we had) I placed under a 
little bantam hen, and she brought off every 
one. When she tried to leave them after 
six weeks, she and I both discovered that 
to hatch guinea chicks was a much greater 
responsibility than any ordinary hen ever 
contemplates. Their mother is their mother, 
and can be nothing else until the following 
spring. Then they mate, and mamma is 
I 113 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

deserted. That whole summer those nine 
guineas would sit solemnly round that little 
bantam while she laid, and they always 
trotted into the chicken-house and roosted 
on either side of her. That is one of the 
reasons why it is good to hatch these little 
birds under hens, — all trouble in getting them 
to behave like domestic house-living birds is 
solved. 

For home and our own consumption, we 
cross the speckled and white varieties, because 
it improves the color and flavor of the flesh, 
which resembles that of the English grouse 
so closely that we consider guineas one of 
the luxuries country life has supplied us. 
Our method of preparing is simple, but most 
appetizing. 

Birds killed at least twenty-five hours 
before required. A generous tablespoonful 
of butter, an onion split in four, a green pep- 
per divided in a like manner, are placed in 
the body of the bird, which is then trussed, 
covered with salt pork, laid in a roasting-pan 

114 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

breast down. After twenty-five minutes of a 
quick oven, the pork is removed, bird turned 
on to back, covered with a dredging of flour, 
pepper, and salt, then replaced in the oven 
to brown. The result is a deliciously flavored 
delicacy when served with brown gravy made 
from giblet stock in which an onion, stuck 
with cloves, half an inch from the end of an 
unpeeled lemon, peppercorns, and salt, have 
been simmered. Strain, and add half a 
wine glass of port wine, a tablespoonful of 
red currant jelly. Bread sauce also accom- 
panies roast guinea-fowl, to accentuate the 
resemblance to game. 



115 



CHAPTER VI 

FEBRUARY 

r 1 1HERE is a feeling of responsibility about 
-^ the acquisition of an incubator that 
seems to inculcate a practical business spirit 
most satisfactory to the evolution of a self- 
supporting condition; so do not hesitate to 
buy one, even if a few dollars have to be 
borrowed from the master of the house or 
the emergency fund. 

Early spring broilers are so profitable that 
every effort should be made to produce 
them. Hens cannot be depended on to 
hatch in February — or even March, if the 
weather remains cold; and chickens, weigh- 
ing from three quarters of a pound to a 
pound and a quarter when dressed, will bring 
50 cents a pound in March and April. 

The up-to-date incubator is so well made 
116 



a^V; \ 












A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and so easy to operate that any one with 
ordinary intelligence and straight common 
sense need have no fear of undertaking the 
care of it. 

There are many different makes of in- 
cubators; some are heated by steam, others 
by hot air. Personally, I prefer the latter, 




The Machine Upside Down 



as there are no water tanks to spring leaks. 
A machine holding one hundred and twenty 
eggs is a convenient size, and costs about 
$20 from any of the best firms. 

For safety during transit, incubators are 
shipped with the legs, lamp-stand, ther- 

117 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

mostat, or regulator-arm being attached; so, 
after uncrating the new machine, the first 
consideration is to connect these parts. 
Screws of correct size are sent, and the 
easiest method of proceeding is to turn the 
machine upside down on the floor and Bx 
the lamp-stand in place, being careful that the 
block of wood at the end of stand, on which 
the lamp really rests, is immediately and 
evenly below the opening of the heater 
chimney. After the stand or support is in 
place, should the block lean to the right or 
left, the support, which is made of metal, 
can easily be bent while the machine is up- 
side down. Try putting the lamp in place, 
to ascertain if the angle of support is correct 
to insure the neck of chimney fitting evenly 
round the burner. The slightest inaccuracy 
in the contact of the two circles will cause 
the lamp to smoke ; soot will accumulate and 
ignite, and in all probability it will end in con- 
suming machine and contents in the middle 
of the hatch. 

118 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

After the lamp-support is in place and 
properly adjusted, put two empty boxes about 
twenty-four inches high, a little over a foot 
from and parallel with the back and front of 
the incubator, which is to be lifted up and 
turned over to rest on the boxes whilst the 
legs are put in place. Be careful that they 
fit evenly against the machine; then make a 
hole with a small gimlet where the manu- 
facturer's marks indicate the screws ought to 




Thermostat 



be inserted. The punctures must, be per- 
fectly straight, as any diversion would prevent 
the screws going "home truly" and in all 
probability throw the legs crooked. 

The next important item is accuracy in 
connecting the thermostat, which goes inside 
the machine, to the regulator-arm, which fits 
into a pivot at the top of the machine, and 
which is accomplished by means of the wire 

119 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

connecting rod, on whose nicety of responsive- 
ness to pressure depends the self-regulating 
possibilities of the modern incubator. Unless 
its passage through the several attachments 
is uniformly even and free from friction, the 
value of the thermostat is lost. This will be 
obvious when the method of controlling heat 
is understood. 

The thermostat is composed of a combina- 
tion of such materials as aluminum and steel. 



-<y^ TTgJgr^-rr 




The Regulator-arm 

Being extremely sensitive to heat, it expands 
and contracts with every fluctuation of tem- 
perature within the incubator. The regu- 
lator-arm has a counterbalance ball at one 
end and a metal disk at the other, and when 
it rests on the pivot which is fixed at the top 
of the machine, the disk should be suspended 
directly over the lamp chimney. The con- 
necting rod has two nuts at the top, and one 

120 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

at the lower end; the latter is removed en- 
tirely, and the former loosened to the extrem- 
ity of the rod, before it is run through the 
regulator-arm and pivot on the exterior, and 
through the hot air space and thermostat in 
the interior of the machine; at which point 




the lower nut is replaced and screwed up to 
hold the thermostat closely against the burlap 
ceiling of the egg-chamber. 

After the lamp is lighted and the machine 
heated to one hundred and two and a half 

121 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

degrees, the top or regulating nut on the con- 
necting-rod, immediately above the regulator- 
arm, is screwed down until the disk is raised 
one-fourth of an inch above the chimney — 
such adjustment being considered by manu- 
facturers and expert operators as most desir- 
able for incubation. The machine once being 
"set" for this degree of temperature, any 
excess of heat causes the thermostat to ex- 
pand, which makes it press on the lower nut 
of the connecting-rod ; so instituting a tension 
that influences the regulator-arm at the point 
of balance, raising the disk over the lamp 
chimney in sympathetic conjunction with the 
thermostat. 

Reverse the condition to a dying lamp or 
sudden cold wave, and of course the thermo- 
stat contracts, and general release of pressure 
allows the regulator-arm to resume a normal 
balance, which permits the disk to lie closely 
down on the chimney. It will be readily 
conceded that on a correct adjustment of the 
machine before starting the hatch depends 

122 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the operator's peace of mind and subsequent 
success. 

An appropriate location for the incubator 
also needs due consideration. The cellar, 
if well ventilated and dry, is the best place; 
but underground places in farm-houses, in 
which fruit or vegetables are stored, cannot 
be properly aired in frosty weather. A room 
on the first floor is the next best location, if 
it can be spared, for then the window can 
be opened a little from the top every day, 
no matter what the weather. Draughts must 
be avoided; they are apt to drive the air 
in one direction in the egg chamber, when it 
should be evenly distributed over all the eggs. 
This same trouble will arise unless the 
machine stands evenly. A carpenter's spirit 
level should be used when the machine is 
set up, to insure this. 

The incubator being properly located, fill 
the lamp, light, and hang in place, using only 
a moderate flame at first. Leave all the ven- 
tilators open for a few hours, to thoroughly 

123 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

air the machine; then close and proceed to 
adjust the regulator so that an even tempera- 
ture of one hundred and two and a half 
degrees, with the disk one-fourth of an inch 
above the lamp chimney, is steadily main- 
tained for twelve hours before setting the 
eggs. Patience and scrupulous exactness at 
first will save accident and loss later. 

When the cold trays and eggs are first put 
in, the temperature will run down, but do 
not turn up the lamp or alter the regulators. 
As the eggs gradually become warm, the 
thermometer will creep up again. After the 
first day, the trays must be taken out every 
night and morning, and the eggs turned and 
allowed to cool to ninety degrees. The time 
allowed for the process must be regulated 
by the atmosphere of the room; if very cold, 
five minutes may be enough; if moderate, 
twenty or thirty may be needed. They must 
not be allowed to chill, but the more airing 
they get under that point, the stronger the 
chickens when hatched. 

124 




The Head Herdsman 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



The eggs should be tested on the seventh 
and fifteenth days. This is best done by a 
block-tin device sold by all incubator com- 
panies. 

Infertile eggs appear quite clear when 
placed before the spot through which the 
light shines. They can be used, when boiled 
hard, to feed the 
young chicks when 
they arrive. 

Weak or dead 
germs are diflScult 
for the amateur to 
distinguish, so sac- 
rifice two or three 
that look pale and 
undeveloped in contrast to strong, unmistak- 
ably vigorous ones. Break the doubtful ones 
into a saucer and study closely. If there 
are many you are doubtful about, mark 
them with a pencil and test again on the 
tenth or twelfth day. When an egg con- 
taining a strong germ is held up to the 

125 




A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

light of the tester, a solid spot about the 
size of a pea, from which vinelike tendrils 
extend, can distinctly be seen floating about 
the centre of the egg. Dead germs, on the 
contrary, usually adhere to one side. Only 
experience enables one to test with certainty. 

You may ask, why risk taking any out.^ 
The answer is, a dead germ causes the whole 
egg to decompose. The shell being porous, the 
harmful gases escape into the incubator and 
poison the air on which the embryo chicks feed. 

To regulate the necessary ventilators is 
even more difficult than to keep the heat even. 
The guide is the air space at the top, or large 
end, of the egg. If this expands too quickly, 
there is too much ventilation; if too slowly, 
there is not sufficient. The safest way to 
study this point is to get one or two broody 
hens, set them at the same time as the incu- 
bator, then ventilate so as to have the incu- 
bator eggs exactly equal to those under the 
hens. 

After turning the eggs and replacing in 
126 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the machine on the morning of the nineteenth 
day, do not open the door again until the 
twenty-second day. To a beginner, this is a 
most difficult exercise of patience. More 
chicks found dead in the shell are due to 




opening the door and taking out those newly 
hatched, than to any other cause. This late 
opening allows the moisture to escape just 
when it is most necessary. 

127 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

POULTRY YARD 

The mature hens which are to furnish the 
eggs for the incubator need special care. 
Should the weather be excessively cold, it 
will be advisable to remove the roosts and fill 
the corners with large piles of bedding hay. 
Natural instinct will make the birds climb 
to the highest available spot to roost, which 
will compel them to crouch on the hay, where 
their own weight will gradually sink them 
sufficiently to provide a warm bed and pre- 
vent all danger of frozen combs and feet, 
which is much to be desired, not only from a 
humane standpoint, but selfishly; for any- 
thing which militates against the hen's tran- 
quillity and comfort affects her productive 
powers. 

The best supper for zero nights is un- 
doubtedly the much-condemned whole corn. 
Fill shallow pans early in the afternoon, and 
place in the oven to heat ; but remember that 
when fed, it must only be warm. Fill drink- 

128 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ing pans three times a day with water from 
which the chill has been removed; leave 
fifteen minutes, and empty. Keep up the 
supply of crushed bone and lean meat and 
some sort of green food; then there will be 
more fertile eggs and stronger chicks. 

Our first February on the farm was one 
continuous snow-storm, rendering out-of-door 
work impossible. So, realizing that even with 
our incubator and brooders at work, some 
families would have to be reared under hens, 
leisure daylight hours were occupied in build- 
ing coops, the dimensions of which were : — 

Two feet wide, two and a half deep, two 
feet high in front, and one and a half in back, 
roof to extend three inches beyond the sides 
all around. The floor fits inside and has 
two cleats of four by four, nailed on three 
inches from the back and front, and extend- 
ing an inch and a half out each side. The 
sides of the top, too, have corresponding 
pieces cut out, so that the coop fits down 
over the edge of the floor on to the cleats. 

U9 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

To clean you have only to lift the coop off 
the floor; and the cleats raise the coop from 
the ground, so preventing it from being damp. 
In front, cut an opening nine inches high, 
seven wide, and make a slat door to fit over 
it, which will allow the chicks to run in and 




Feed Trough made from Four Straight Pieces of Board 

out. Hang the door inside the coop from 
the top. This has the advantage that the 
hen can't push it open, but when she is to 
come out, it can be hooked up out of the 
way, leaving the outside of the coop free for 
the night door, which should be made of 

130 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

half-inch wire netting, to allow ventilation 
and prevent chicks from getting out or night 
prowlers from getting in. To make the 
house quite safe from summer showers, cover 
with roofing paper or paint. 

If you have many families, time will not 
allow all to be provided with such model 
dwellings; so you may have to resort to a 
barrel tipped over on its side. If so, prepare 
some stakes, which will be needed on each 
side to fix it when placed for use. To make it 
habitable, throw three or four shovelfuls of dry 
earth into it, and on that some cut hay. Make 
a gate of slats for the front to keep Biddy in, 
and cover all over the top with roofing paper, 
putting a straight strip about four inches deep 
across the top of the front, to prevent rain 
from beating in. A light piece of wood put 
up against the slat door and held in place by 
a stone will close up safely for the night. 

Individual drinking fountains will also be 
required, and though the correct galvanized 
ones cost only thirty-five cents for the quart 

131 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

size, many become a consideration; so well- 
made cans, such as syrup or tomatoes come in, 
should be collected and cleaned, and a hole a 
little larger than a pea punched half an inch 
from the edge. This can be accomplished 
by placing the point of a large nail against 
the inside of the can as it lies on the work- 





bench, and hitting the head a sharp blow with 
the hammer. Deep pie plates one inch wider 
than the circumference of the can were 
bought at seven cents each, and converted 
the old can into a self-feeding water fountain, 
in which no chick could possibly commit 
suicide or even get itself wet enough to cause 
chill and bowel trouble. 

132 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The long evenings gave us plenty of time 
to plan the garden on paper and make our 
seed lists, all of which saved time when it 
was of greater value. Every family will, of 
course, have especially preferred vegetables to 
take precedence over others, so individual 
taste alone can determine the allotted space 
for each variety. Our selection plan was 
made with due regard for table, pickles, and 
preserves, all of which it 
bountifully supplied. 
Therefore if your dis- 
crimination on such sub- 
jects is too undeveloped 
as yet to be trusted, accept our experience 
this year; by next you will know how to 
reconstruct it to your personal needs. When 
planning out on paper, the second crop 
should be considered as well as the spring 
sowings. Then there will be no uncertainty 
and loss of time later. 



133 




A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Vegetable Seeds 

1 pk. of " Bovee " Potatoes for early garden crop . . $ .75 

1 oz. Carrots, " Oxheart " 10 

1 pkg. Cauliflower, " Early Snowball " 25 

1 pkg. Celery 10 

2 oz. Beets 20 

1 pkg. Brussels Sprouts 10 

1 pkg. each of " Jersey Wakefield " and " Autumn King " 

Cabbage , ... .15 

1 oz. Kale, " Dwarf Green " 10 

1 oz. Lettuce, " Boston Market " 15 

1 pt. Peas, " First of AH " 15 

ipt. Peas, "Petit Paris" . 10 

1 qt. Peas, " Champion of England *' 30 

1 pkg. Turnips, "Early Flat Dutch" 05 

1 pkg. Turnips, " Purple Top Aberdeen "... .05 

1 pkg. Turnips, " Ruta Baga " 10 

1 qt. White Onion sets . . . . . . . .25 

1 qt. Red Onion sets 25 

1 oz. " Prizetaker " Onion seed for next year sets . . .20 

1 pkg. Cucumber, " White Spine " . 10 

1 pkg. Egg Plant, "N.Y. Spineless" 10 

1 pkg. Tomato, " Crimson Cushion " 10 

1 pkg. Pepper, "Ruby King" 10 

1 pkg. Musk melon, " Delmonico " 10 

1 pkg. Squash, " Long Island " (summer) . . . .10 

1 pkg. Squash, " Gregory " (winter) 10 

1 pkg. Green Bush Bean, " The Longfellow " . . . .10 

1 pkg. Pole Lima Bean, " Leviathan " 10 

1 pkg. Okra, '< Long Green " 05 

1 oz. Radish, " Scarlet Turnip " 10 

134 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

1 pkg. Corn, " Country Gentleman " 15 

Herbs — 1 pkg. each — Parsley, Sage, Summer Savory, 
Thyme, Marjoram, Aniseed, Wormwood, Saffron, 
Tansy 40 

$4.95 



Flower Garden 



1 pkg. Ricinus (castor oil plant) 

1 pkg. Japanese Tassel Asters . 

1 pkg. Balsam .... 

1 pkg. Cosmos .... 

1 pkg. Hollyhocks . 

1 pkg. Larkspur 

1 oz. Nasturtiums, Tall . 

1 oz. Nasturtiums, " Tom Thumb 

1 pkg. Pansies .... 

1 pkg. Pinks .... 

1 pkg. Salvia, " Scarlet Dragon " 

1 pkg. Stocks .... 

1 pkg. Sweet-william 

1 pkg. Verbena 

1 pkg. Wallflower . 

J pkg. Sunflower 



.05 
.15 
.10 
.05 
.10 
.05 
.15 
.15 
.05 
.10 
.05 
.05 
.05 
.10 
.05 
.15 



$1.40 



One of the advantages of sending for seeds 
early is that you are sure to get the varieties 
selected, whereas later in the season "the 
best" is frequently sold out, and you will 
either be sent old seed, or some inferior va- 

135 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

riety as a substitute. Another advantage is 
not being kept weeks for seed which should 
be in the ground. Send for your supplies 
to an old established firm; ** bargains" are 
the most reckless waste of money. 

If the "Home" is to be an ideal haven of 
rest, it must be pretty. Economy will pro- 
hibit buying plants for the flower garden the 
first summer, but exercising a little fore- 
thought now will enable you to have a lovely 
display of flowers all through the summer at 
a normal cost. Procure some shallow boxes 
from your grocer. They should not be 
more than three inches deep, and about a 
foot and a half long and a foot wide. If it 
is not possible to get what you want, saw a six 
or seven inch box in halves, using the lid as 
a bottom for the second box. It will be well 
to provide quite a number of these boxes, as 
you will want them for vegetable seed unless 
you have a hotbed — a luxury which is hardly 
to be indulged in the first year. 

Drainage is essential in the boxes to be 
136 



I 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

used as nursery beds; so, unless there are 
cracks between the strips of wood at the bot- 
tom, bore holes with a bit or a red-hot poker; 
then fill up to within half an inch of the top 
with the compost made in November. Let 
the boxes stand a few days in a warm room, 
to induce any weed seeds which may be lurking 
in their depths to germinate; for it is much 
easier to destroy these pests before the boxes 
are planted than after. 

Have the mould thoroughly pulverized before 
sowing, and prepare an extra quantity to use 
for covering the seeds. This I do by half- 
filling a rather fine colander and shaking it 
over the box until there is an even layer over 
the seeds. The average small flower seed 
should not have more than the fourth of 
an inch over it. A board that will fit in- 
side the box should be firmly pressed down 
to insure the seeds being firmly embedded 
in the mould. Otherwise the air gets round, 
dries up and kills the first frail germs 
of life. After planting and patting down, 

137 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

sprinkle lightly and stand the boxes on a south 
or southwest window in a living-room where 
the temperature averages sixty degrees. Until 
the seedlings show above the ground, it is ad- 
visable to keep a sheet of window glass over 
them, raising slightly at one end at the middle 
of the day for ventilation. If the nights are 
very cold, throw a woollen cloth or newspaper 
over and around the sides of the boxes, to 
avoid frost. 

The seeds to be started this month are, for 
the flower garden: hollyhocks, wallflowers, 
pinks, pansies, verbenas, stocks, sweet-will- 
iams, nasturtiums, salvia. When ordering 
seeds, specify that annual hollyhocks and 
wallflowers are desired, else you will get no 
blossoms the first year from these plants. 

For the vegetable garden: cabbage, cauli- 
flower, Brussels sprouts, and lettuce. 

For the last two years we have filled about 
two dozen empty paper cases in which break- 
fast cereals come with rich mould, and in 
the middle deposited half a potato. These 

138 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

are watered and placed near the cellar win- 
dows, where they sprout and become sturdy 
plants by the time the ground is fit to work 
in the garden, when the cases are cut in all 
directions with the point of a sharp knife, 
care being taken not to disturb the mould in 
any way. A hole is made in the ground and 
the box submerged. Soon the force of the 
growing plants demolishes the rotting paper 
of the box; the tubers continue to develop 
without check, and furnish new potatoes 
for several dinners in May, when they are 
luxuries and so duly appreciated. 

Rhubarb and asparagus can be consid- 
erably hastened in the garden by covering 
clumps with barrels which have had the 
heads knocked out, or empty cases. Which- 
ever are used, the treatment is the same. 
Place the "protector" firmly over the plant, 
and bank up leaves or straw and stable man- 
ure all round the outside. At night or on 
very cold days, cover the top of the shelter 
with burlap, glass, or oiled muslin. 

139 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The latter is easily fixed and can be used 
for such a multitude of purposes both in the 
garden and about the poultry houses, that if 
you can spare the time, make a few different- 
sized frames of shingle slats ; cover them with 
cheap muslin, using half -inch wire nails and 
stretching the muslin as evenly as possible. 
Then with a paint brush give the whole sur- 
face a coat of linseed oil. When it dries, 
you will have a capital imitation of a hotbed 
sash, which is light to handle, not easily 
broken, nearly as transparent as glass and 
quite as protective. 



140 



CHAPTER VII 

MARCH 

1% /TY first experience with incubator chicks 
■^^-^ was undertaken without any equipment. 
Needless to say, it was accident, not design, 
which led me into such a rash proceeding; 
for even the enthusiasm of an amateur has 
its limits. The farm was still in the primi- 
tive condition of depending on old biddies 
for all hatching, when the peace-banishing 
gift of one hundred and sixty-three chicks 
was bestowed on me by a young fellow who 
had started an incubator and who, on the 
very day the chicks were coming out, was 
compelled to return to the city. 

The fluffy little fellows looked so pretty 
that I was delighted with my present, until 
the problem of keeping them warm through 
the night had to be solved. After much 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

cogitating, cut hay was scattered on the bot- 
tom of two large wash-tubs, which were 
placed before the open fire in the dining 
room. Then we heated bricks, wrapped them 
in flannel, and placed two in the centre of 
each tub. As the chicks were put in they 
cuddled up to the warmth, apparently utterly 
oblivious to its stony lack of feeling. A 
strong string was stretched from handle to 
handle, to prevent the heavy blanket with 
which the tub was to be covered from sinking 
down and smothering its tiny inmates. 

All was peace and quiet for about half an 
hour; then a series of discontented chirps 
started in both tubs. Investigation revealed 
the fact that the bricks were nearly cold. 
What would retain the heat ? Two gallon- 
demijohns were filled with boiling water, 
and replaced the bricks; peace reigned, 
and forthwith I resigned myself to arising 
once or twice during the night to refill. Sud- 
denly a commotion started in one of the tubs. 
The blanket was removed to discover the 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

cause. One of the demijohns had cracked, 
and the poor babies were floating about in 
hot water, from which they were rapidly 
scooped out by the handful, and deposited 
on the hearth-rug to dry, apparently not 
much hurt. Hot water obviously was not 
safe. Once more, what would retain heat.^ 
A flash of inspiration suggested baked 
corn. It was one a. m. before a sufficient 
quantity could be made hot enough, but it 
did keep warm till seven o'clock. Baked 
corn proved so safe as a warmth retainer, 
that for a week all went well. Then, the 
half-dormant infant period being passed, it 
became evident that outdoor air and exercise 
were necessary during the day. A hundred 
and sixty-three chicks do not seem very 
formidable when confined in a brooder; 
but oh, their mighty numbers when sudden 
capture became necessary in a thunder-shower ! 
The exercise would have profitably employed 
a large class of physical-culture students 
perhaps, but wrestling alone with such living 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

atoms of quicksilver reduced me to a skeleton, 
and ninety unfortunate chicks to untimely 
graves. 

My tale of disaster has been told only to 
warn any misguided creatures who think 
they can manage without a brooder. 

For the beginner, with only one or two 
incubators, the individual brooder is undoubt- 
edly the most convenient, because the long 
house, fitted with boilers and hot water or 
steam pipes, necessitates a large outlay. 
First, there is the building and plumbing; 
then the whole house has to be heated, even 
if only one section is being used. Last, 
should any accident happen to the boiler 
or fire when the house is filled with chickens, 
all suffer. 

The individual machines are divided into 
two classes, there being only $2 difference 
between their prices. The out-door is really 
the cheapest, because it can be used in any 
light, sunny shed, or in the house in cold 

weather. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Every incubator which holds one hundred 
and twenty eggs will require three brooders 
of the hundred-chick size to rear its output, 
even if only seventy-five per cent of the eggs 
hatch, because a brooder of that size can 
accommodate only fifty chicks when they are 
two weeks old, and twenty-five when they 
are three weeks old; and the second lot will 
hatch when the first are twenty-three days 
old, if the machines are kept running closely. 
Crowding is disastrous. The round hover 
used in nearly all the brooders now does 
away to a great extent with the crushing up 
into corners; but if the temperature is al- 
lowed to run down, there is a natural ten- 
dency to crowd into a bunch, which usually 
results in the unfortunate weaklings of the 
lot being crushed to death. Another objec- 
tion to large brooders is the impossibility of 
keeping the air in them fresh during long, 
cold nights. 

In preparing the brooders, mix an ounce 
of crude carbolic acid in a pailful of white- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

wash, and give the brooder a coat on the in- 
side. When dry, fit a piece of carpet or felt 
all over the floor of the sleeping compart- 
ment, and make a slip cover of cotton flannel 
to go over the hover and floor, fastening it 
down with large drawing-pins in each corner. 
Have two of these slip covers to each brooder, 
and change at least three times a week, 
having them washed and boiled each time 
they are removed. 

The outside or feeding room is best car- 
peted with cut hay. We keep the sweepings 
of the hay-loft for this, as it is fine, and keeps 
the small chickens busy scratching for food 
and seeds. 

If a fountain is to be used, stand it on a 
piece of wood to keep it out of the dust, of 
course being sure that the chickens can reach 
it. If you have no fountain, fasten a small 
cup to the side of the brooder; but do not 
think that a cup or dish on the floor is easier 
and just as good, because half an hour after 
it has been put in you will find it minus water, 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

filled with the cut hay or whatever you use, 
and the floor wet and mussy. 

At the front of the feeding compartment 
is a small door to open and let out the babies 
into a run, which should be made of slats 
and one-inch wire netting — as wide as the 
brooders, six feet long, one high, and the top 
made to open like a box-lid, for convenience. 

Everything being ready, start the lamp 
burning, at first leaving the doors, or lids, 
open about an inch. Close after a few hours, 
and get it running steadily at ninety-five 
degrees, for twenty-four hours before you 
expect to use it. Remember that too much or 
too little heat is as dangerous in a brooder 
as in an incubator. Many beginners will use 
the greatest care in hatching the eggs, and 
then spoil everything by neglecting the chicks 
in the matter of heat, and so lose them by 
the dozen. 

Commence with ninety-five degrees; the 
second week lower gradually to eighty-five, 
decreasing that till it is at seventy at the end 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

of the fourth week. Always take the tem- 
perature from the thermometer under the 
hover. 

Most brooders have some means of shut- 
ting off the sleeping room from the play 
room, which must be closed before putting 
in the chicks, for at first they could not 
endure the low temperature of the outer 
room ; but unless prevented they will run right 
away from the heat and get chilled. So 
they must get gradually accustomed to their 
surroundings. 

If, however, your brooder does not have 
this arrangement, just close the opening 
with a clean old blanket, or even newspaper; 
but do not use a board — it may tumble 
down and hurt some of the babies. 

Being in the brooder, all that they need 
for twenty-four hours is fine gravel and char- 
coal, scattered on the flannel covering the 
floor. For the first few nights it is advisable 
to see that all the little folks are safely under 
the hover curtain, for, having no mother to 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

cluck them to bed, they are apt to go to sleep 
in one of the outer corners. 

Never neglect airing the brooder at least 
twice a day. Any carpenter can make an 
extra cover for the hover like the one which 
comes with the brooder; it is a simple matter 
to tack a fringed piece of flannel or felt round 
it, and having the two, one can be exposed 
to the sun and air for hours every day, with- 
out inconveniencing the chicks. 

FOOD FOR THE FIRST TVTENTY DAYS 

Nothing for the first twenty-four hours, 
because the yolk of the egg, which is absorbed 
into the abdomen, must be digested and 
assimilated before any other food is taken, 
or the bowels become congested, dysentery 
sets in — or at least indigestion ; the result 
being slow-growing, scraggy chicks, which 
are a misery to themselves and a disappoint- 
ment to their owners. 

The second day, hard-boiled eggs, chopped 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

fine without removing the shell, and mixed 
with equal parts of dry bread crumbs; to 
each cupful, add one dessert-spoonful of 
powdered charcoal. 

For three weeks, "little and often" "should 
be the rule. We feed five times a dav, — the 
first meal at five-thirty, six-thirty, or seven 
o'clock, according to the light. This meal 
consists of pinhead oatmeal, cracked wheat, 
cracked corn — all passed through a fine 
sieve; nine o'clock, stale bread which has 
been baked in the oven and coarsely ground 
in a hand-mill, just moistened with milk 
that has been scalded; eleven-thirty, boiled 
liver and green sprouts of onions — half a 
cup of each, chopped fine, to one whole cup 
of dried bread crumbs; at two o'clock more 
milk and crumbs, lettuce, or tender greens, 
chopped fine; from four to half-past, all the 
dry mixed grain they will eat; fresh water 
three times a day. 

I have never had any cases of gapes among 
my chicks, and I attribute it to the constant 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

use of green onion tops or sprouts. Crumbs 
and milk, or any moist food, must be fed on 
a flat plate, shallow galvanized pan, or strip 
of board, and removed after ten minutes to 
insure nothing being left to get sour. Dry 
grains should be scattered on the play room 
floor to keep the little fellows busy hunting 
it, the main object being to promote exercise 
and avoid overloading the crop. 

Should there be any weak chicks in the 
brood, with pinched, pasty-looking beaks 
too large for their faces, remove them to a 
small box and care for them in the house, or 
have the courage to end their lives in a merci- 
ful way; for such birds are usually descended 
from overfat or roupy parents, and are likely 
to develop consumption or some other disease 
which may spread through the flock. 

Another chick trouble is diarrhoea. Scald- 
ing all milk used has a tendency to check 
this. A rusty nail or a few drops of tincture 
of iron in the drinking water is also good, 
as well as being a tonic. Should the drop- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

pings adhere to the feathers, and cause the 
vent to be pasted up, remove the obstruction 
by bathing with warm water. Keep the 
patient warm and mix a little poppy seed 
with its food. A few days' care will effect a 
cure, unless the case is hopeless. 

Natural incubation must not be neglected, 
for no matter how many modern inventions 
for converting eggs into chickens the "Home" 
may boast, Biddy takes precedence for rearing 
future stock, and for hatching small numbers 
of ducks, geese, or turkey eggs. 

Do not think that Biddy must be allowed 
to remain in the nest she claims in the chicken- 
house, for such an arrangement always breeds 
trouble; every hen will desire to lay in that 
particular nest, even if there are twenty others 
vacant. Then, if Mrs. Biddy is of a pugilistic 
disposition, there are fights and broken eggs. 
If she be of the angelic type, and allow in- 
truders to crowd into her nest, she gathers the 
eggs to her motherly breast, and the warmth 
soon renders them unfit for table use, 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

To avoid all trouble of this kind, devote 
some small building to the exclusive use of 
sitting hens, where they will be free from all 
disturbing influences. Arrange nest boxes, 
with hay in them, all around the sides. In 
the centre of the floor two boxes filled with 
fine ashes for the sitters to bathe in are needed, 
as well as a drinking fountain and a pan filled 
with whole corn mixed with sharp grit — 
four portions of the former to one of the latter. 
Fill up the pan and water fountain every 
morning. Cut a large turnip or cabbage 
in half and fix it between stones, so as to 
keep the cut side firmly uppermost; then 
whenever hunger assails any of the occu- 
pants of the house, they can eat and return 
to their nests without attention from you. 

Droppings must of course be removed every 
day, and the ash baths emptied and refilled 
twice a week. 

There is also another time- and trouble- 
saving device: we now use a sort of cage 
three feet long, two feet wide, and one and a 

153 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

half high, made of shingle slats covered 
around the sides, ends, and top with two- 
inch mesh netting, which is placed over the 
nest when the hen is first set, if she seems 
at all restless. Some hens always have to 
have the cage kept over them, or after feed- 
ing they go into the wrong nest, leaving 
their own. Obviously, when the cage is 
used, food, water, and all the needs must be 
placed inside. 

Now the question arises, how to know 
when a hen is desirous to sit. I still remem- 
ber with shame my own studipity on this 
simple point. 

Among the first hens I owned was an old 
Plymouth Rock that soon claimed special 
notice; for every time I went to feed she 
came flying off a nest, and an egg met my 
delighted gaze. Two eggs a day from one 
hen ! It was phenomenal ! Such a thing 
was never heard of! Day after day for two 
weeks ! 

Then one day the old Dutch woman who 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

came to do the wash was hanging out the 
clothes when I went to feed at noon. Pride 
prompted me to point out the record breaker 
and explain her wonderful value. 

Old Reika grunted out: — 

"Nein — dose Rocques aind't no gut, only 
to sedt." 

"Only to sit," was my haughty comment, 
"why, she lays two eggs a day!" 

"Himmel sturmwetter ! " Oh, the look of 
amused contempt on that old Dutch face ! 
"Maybe she kheeps de nechst vorhm aber, 
but it vos some oddhor vaoul vot lays dose 
eggs — don't it?" 

Reika was right. My wonderful, record- 
breaking hen was nothing but a broody old 
Biddy hen with such a greedy disposition 
that she flew off the nest every time food 
came in sight. 

Profit by this experience. 

When you see the same hen on a nest 
each time you go into the coop, it is a sign 
she is getting broody. If she is still there 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

when you lock up for the night, she is ready 
to be set. Some broody hens do not get off 
the nest at feed time. Under these cir- 
cumstances, you must sKp your hand under 
the hen and abstract whatever eggs you can 
feel. This needs courage, for some hens 
peck and scold in a way that is alarming 
to a city woman. Others keep quite still 
until your hand is near, then dash off the 
nest, shrieking and screaming until every 
bird on the premises joins in the uproar. 

Being sure of a broody hen, go into the 
house when it is almost dark, stoop down 
in front of the nest, and place your hands 
over Biddy, the thumbs meeting between 
the shoulders, the fingers passing over the 
body and picking up the feet. In this way 
she is easily removed without any fright 
being caused to the other inmates of the 
house. Carry her outside, then hold by 
the feet, head down, as illustrated in the 
cut facing page 28, and proceed to dust her 
feathers thoroughly with insect powder from 

156 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the dredge. When it has been well rubbed 
in, gather her up in your hands in the same 
position as when you took her from the 
nest, and hold her until she is quiet again. 
Then place her over the nest and free your 
fingers from her claws, letting her feel the 
eggs, releasing her gradually as you feel her 
settle down on the nest. 

All this handling must be accomplished 
as nearly as possible in the dark, and as it 
is not always convenient to do it during the 
short time of dusk, a lantern must be fixed 
up for night work; paint all but a strip of 
the glass with black paint. 

As the moving and powdering are likely to 
make the hen restless, three or four china nest- 
eggs are put into the nest at first ; then, when 
she has settled down to business, it is an easy 
matter the next evening to change the dummies 
and slip real eggs under her. The ordinary 
sitting of hens' eggs is thirteen in number, but 
a large hen can safely be given fifteen, espe- 
cially as the weather becomes warmer. 

157 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

About the seventh and fifteenth days after 
the sitting has begun, the hen should again 
be powdered. 

Always try and set two or more hens at 
the same time. You can then give the two 
clutches to one hen, returning the other 
hen to the chicken-house, where she will 
soon begin laying again. 

When Biddy has been sitting twenty-one 
full days, listen; if you hear a twitter in the 
morning, wait for the evening before slipping 
your hand under her to remove the dry chicks. 
If it is evening before you hear any sound, 
wait until the next morning. 

The object in removing the young ones 
is that the hen, in moving around to help 
the later chickens out of the shell, may not 
be able to avoid trampling on and injuring 
those already out. At the same time clear 
the nest of broken shells, for there is danger 
that a broken section may get fitted over a 
pipped egg, — the term used for the first 
little chipped hole made by the baby's bill 

158 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

when trying to break out of its prison, — 
thus excluding the air and smothering the 
occupant. 

The newcomers must be wrapped in 
flannel, put in a basket, and kept warm be- 
hind the kitchen stove. Wait twelve hours 
longer; then take all the chicks, remove the 
hen to her future home, fasten her in, and 
give her all her babies and a good feed of corn. 
Place before the coop a run three feet long, 
made of slats and half-inch wire netting or 
boards a foot high, so the little ones can- 
not wander away and get lost. 

Coops are best kept in the full sun till the 
middle of April. After that, place them 
under a tree for shelter and shade. All 
grass under and around them should be cut 
short, so that dew and rain will dry off as 
quickly as possible and make it easier for 
chicks to eat. Each family should be six feet 
away from all the others, for some hens will 
wreak dire vengeance on any baby that is 
foolish enough to mistake home and mother. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

THE GARDEN 

If the weather is fine, the last two weeks 
of March should see the patch of ground 
intended for the vegetable garden ploughed 
and harrowed, as was explained in Chapter 
III, November. It is advisable to do 
this in the fall when possible, but many 
beginners going on to the farm for the first 
time this spring can still have a good garden 
if no time is lost in starting it. 

Have well-rotted stable manure scattered 
over the surface before ploughing, which 
should be deep at first. After two or three 
days' airing, plough again, running the fur- 
rows crosswise; then harrow and roll and 
harrow again until every clod is broken up. 
Thorough preparation of the soil should 
never be shirked, for it is more than half 
the battle. Let me caution you not to have 
the ploughing done if the ground is wet. 
Much of the disappointment which city peo- 
ple experience in their first summer arises 

160 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

from the natural desire of the amateur to 
get to work. Earth ploughed, dug, or hoed 
when wet or soggy will bake and crust all 
summer. The right consistency can be as- 
certained by picking up a handful and squeez- 
ing it. If it remains a solid lump, it is too 
wet; but when it presses together easily 
and as readily falls apart when released, it 
is just in the right condition to work, will 
turn a clean furrow, and will readily crumble 
under the harrow. 

Flower and vegetable seeds planted in the 
nursery boxes last month will need watch- 
ing from the middle to the end of this month ; 
for what is called "damping off" is very apt 
to appear. It can be easily detected by the 
sickly appearance of the seedlings, followed 
by a shrivelling or burning of the stem close 
to the earth. The moment the danger sig- 
nal is noticed, prick out into fresh boxes of 
corresponding size, or a trifle deeper. The 
seedlings need not be planted more than 
half an inch apart. Prepare the mould in 
M 161 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the boxes the same as you did for the seeds; 
pat down, and make the holes in which the 
baby plants are to be put with a toothpick, 
firming the earth around them gently with 
the forefinger of each hand. Should no 
suggestion of debility appear among the seed- 
lings, still prick out into fresh boxes when 
the second leaves unfold. 

The seeds of tomatoes and peppers should 
now be started in nursery boxes, precisely 
in the same way as were the flower seeds 
last month. If weather permits, ground for 
oats and potatoes should be ploughed during 
the latter part of the month. Sod ground 
is desirable for potatoes, so if there is a strip 
of grass land which needs renewal, have it 
well ploughed, harrowed, and marked off 
in rows a foot and a half apart. 

Almost every old farmer has a theory 
about the way and size to cut a potato for 
planting. After listening and trying several 
methods, we have come to the conclusion 
that cutting large tubers in four, and small 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ones through the centre lengthwise, is much 
better than dissecting carefully to separate 
every eye, and then use two pieces when 
planting; especially as the innumerable ex- 
periments tried at the agricultural stations 
have revealed the fact that eyes gather nu- 
triment for sustenance and growth from the 
potato itself, until the sprouts develop stems 
that form joints — at which point rootlets 
start; proving beyond doubt that unless the 
piece of potato planted is large enough to 
adequately feed the eye or eyes it may con- 
tain, the root growth which is required to 
furnish the subsequent tubers with food 
must be weakened. We plant one quarter 
to every foot in the row, and cover from 
four to five inches deep, selecting ground 
which has been heavily manured the year 
before, and scattering wood ashes on the 
surface after the seeds have been covered with 
earth. 

We have two old-fashioned open fire- 
places in which logs are burnt, so have a 

163 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

bountiful supply of ashes, all of which are 
saved in barrels for this use. The two 
years when we grew a large quantity of 
potatoes for market, a sawmill was being 
operated in the woods, the engine of which 
was fed with the waste logs; and we bar- 
gained for the ashes at fifty cents a load. 
Failing this source, commercial fertilizer 
specially prepared for potatoes had to be 
bought. Thorough cultivation is necessary 
to insure a good crop. Soon, say seven or 
eight days after planting, run the harrow 
over the field, which will kill the embryo 
weeds and level the surface. As soon as 
the plants show, cultivate again; but, of 
course, this time only between the rows and 
with an ordinary cultivator. Repeat at fre- 
quent intervals. 

It is estimated that it takes fifteen bushels 
of potatoes, after they have been cut into 
quarters, to plant an acre, which should re- 
turn one hundred and thirty bushels of 
salable potatoes — by which is meant large 

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Father of his Flock 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and medium-sized potatoes, small ones not 
entering into the calculation. In an ordi- 
nary crop there will be in all probability 
about thirty bushels of these dwarfs, which 
are excellent fattening food for poultry and 
pigs when cooked and mashed up. 

Dormant roses and small fruit trees should 
be bought before the 15th of the month. 
They are cheaper than growing plants later 
in the season, and being free from sap and 
earth round the roots, cost much less to ship. 
Plant where you desire them to permanently 
stand, as soon as the frost is out of the ground. 
Twenty-four hours before planting we stand 
the roots in a pail of water, which softens 
and makes them pliable — an advantage 
when spreading them out in their future 
home. 



165 



CHAPTER VIII 

APRIL 

T"F only for the feathers, a few geese should be 
-■- kept. Lots of pillows are such a comfort, 
and a well-fed, well-cooked goose is a wel- 
come change in midwinter. Moreover, green 
geese (birds under ten months old) are always 
in demand during the holiday season, being 
as universally used by the Germans for 
Christmas fare as are turkeys by Americans. 
My first essay at goose rearing was made 
with five eggs, bought for five cents apiece 
from a Swede who was ploughing for us. 
An old Brahma hen was intrusted to incu- 
bate them, and faithfully performed the duty 
until I lifted her off the nest on the thirtieth 
day, to find only three eggs. The others, 
evidently, had been broken or stolen. Of 
those remaining, two were unmistakably bad; 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the third slightly chipped, but showing no 
sign of life. 

Not having outlived the amateur's desire to 
cosset every feeble spark of life, I carried 
the egg down to the house, held it over a 
steaming kettle to soften the dry, hard shell, 
which I gradually chipped off, revealing an 
apparently lifeless, under-sized gosling, which 
I subjected to a combination of steaming and 
baking until, just as effort was about to be dis- 
continued in despair, it kicked — a feeble, 
die-away sort of kick certainly, but it stimu- 
lated my desire to save its life, which was 
eventually granted; but the result was such 
a miserable-looking object for weeks, that, 
had it not been for the odd, intelligent per- 
sonality of the poor little wretch, I fear its 
existence would have been summarily cur- 
tailed. 

It persisted in continually waddling after 
me, squatting down suddenly at my feet as 
soon as I came to a stand-still, and looking 
up with a comically satisfied expression which 

167 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

compelled attention. During the days of 
ugliness and uncertainty of sex, innumerable 
uncomplimentary names suggested by ap- 
pearance or oddities were bestowed on the 
poor creature, who eventually shamed per- 
spicacity by developing into a beautiful white 
gander, and became known to our friends 
as Launcelot Gobbo the Wonderful — the ap- 
pendix being earned through his capacity for 
developing and acquiring tricks. 

First of these was to knock at the back 
door punctually at seven o'clock each morn- 
ing for his breakfast. On being admitted 
he would march to a side table where he had 
been fed when a baby, climb on to a chair 
which stood by it, and sit solemnly with his 
beak on the edge of the table for a few 
seconds, softly muttering as if saying grace, 
then stretch up his neck and caw for his 
oatmeal, which had to be sweetened and 
creamed as for our own eating. Launcelot 
seemed to comprehend that eating with the 
family necessitated a nicety of deportment; 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for never was he anything but a courteous 
gentleman during the short visits he elected 
to pay the house. Outside, he would de- 
scend to the mischievous, noisy Gobbo of 
Shakespearian history. 

When he was quite little I used to lay 
him on his back in my hand, just for the fun 
of seeing him go to sleep contentedly in such 
an ungooselike position. As he grew older, 
he would come on to the piazza, and volun- 
tarily assume the position on the mat at 
the dining room door, keeping his eyes 
open, and cawing the moment any of the 
family appeared — probably realizing that 
the trick attracted such attention as assured 
his being stroked and petted. Nothing 
more ridiculous could be imagined than the 
big, awkward bird waddling up to the mat, 
flopping down, and deliberately turning on 
his back. It was a performance that never 
failed to astonish and amuse visitors; but 
when the vacation time brought a juvenile 
friend of ten years old to stay with us, the 

169 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

climax of absurdity was reached through her 
rewarding him with chocolate creams. The 
unaccustomed flavor highly delighted him, 
for he would lie for any length of time in 
the hopes of receiving more candy. This 
prompted the little lassie to undertake his 
education; and before school recalled her 
to the city, Launcelot would lie still with a 
black baby dolly cradled on one wing, and a 
dilapidated sailor-boy on the other; wear 
a ribbon harness and draw a doll's carriage; 
eat ice-cream, drink coffee, and run for a ball 
as well as a dog. 

The next spring, fearing he would be lonely, 
we bought an old gray goose, who showed 
a most supreme contempt for her young 
husband's various accomplishments, even 
resorting to corporal punishment, whenever 
he rolled over on to his back. Such an 
ill-assorted pair seemed hardly appropriate 
founders of practical stock; yet fifteen of 
their twenty children raised that year sold 
in December for $28, which being spent in 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

three geese and a gander gave us a quartet 
of breeders that have never earned less than 
$130 a season. 

Geese, being grazing creatures possessed 
with a vicious habit of nibbHng down to the 
roots of sod, cannot be allowed the run of the 
farm, and ordinary yards would soon be- 
come defiled and barren. So a strip of newly 
cleared land or old pasture should be con- 
verted into a compound for their exclusive 
use. 

One domestic gander will tend from three 
to five geese. If more than that number 
are to be kept, each family should have indi- 
vidual establishments, stationed as far apart 
as the dimensions of the compound will 
allow; putting up a fence to enclose thirty 
or forty feet around each coop, and placing 
feed and water cans within them. At the 
expiration of a month they will acknowledge 
it as home, and cling together faithfully as 
one family; then the fence can be removed, 
as, clanship once established, there is little 

171 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

fear of serious combat occurring amongst 
the ganders. 

Stakes three feet long of cedar with one end 
cut to a sharp point and hammered into the 
ground will do to fasten the wire netting to 
for the enclosure. Nails and caps that come 
for putting on roofing paper are the best to 
use, because easily removed. The stakes 
can be utilized afterward in the garden, and, 
of course, the netting is always being required. 
A few old, half-rotted stumps placed in the 
compound will afford the geese amusement 
and occupation, which prevents moping when 
they discover their freedom has its limits. 

If the compound is spacious and the grass 
thick, a feed at night will be all the birds 
need; but as the pasture fails, breeding 
stock must be regularly and judiciously pro- 
vided for — the object being to keep up 
strength and vitality, so insuring early and 
fertile eggs, but to avoid food which might 
mitigate the desired condition. Breakfast can 
be turnips, beets, cabbage — or any other veg- 

172 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

etable excepting potatoes — boiled, mashed, 
and mixed with an equal quantity of wheat 
bran and a fourth of ground feed. At 
noon, cut and steamed clover hay, or chopped 
vegetables. At night, about half a small 
cupful of wheat or corn for each bird. Three 
times a week add meat meal to the mash, 
or feed green cut bone at noon. Like all 
other poultry, they must be supplied with 
sharp grit, old plaster, or air-slacked lime. 

A goose usually selects a nest in February. 
A hollow in the ground filled with hay or 
a shallow box on the floor will be readily 
adopted. Before commencing to lay, the 
goose lines her nest with down plucked from 
her own breast; and after laying, the egg is 
covered first with down, and then with what- 
ever may be within reach of her bill. The 
first fifteen eggs should be stolen from day to 
day as laid, cautiously removing the covering 
and replacing it when the birds are safely out 
of sight ; as both goose and gander will strenu- 
ously resent any interference with the nest, 

173 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and a blow from the wing of either is seri- 
ously unpleasant. Should a goose become 
broody early in the season, remove her from 
the nest and incarcerate in a wire coop within 
the compound, where she can see her mates. 
Within a few days all desire to sit will have 
left her, and after a few days of freedom 
she will commence laying again. 

The second clutch of eggs she should be 
allowed to retain, for goslings hatched under 
the oily moisture of a goose's breast are 
stronger, and so desirable for future stock. 
It is the want of this humid warmth, when 
ordinary hens are used to incubate such large 
eggs, that necessitates sprinkling the eggs 
two or three times; and when possible, 
making the nest on the ground, or at least 
cutting the sod and placing it at the bottom 
of any wooden box used as a nest. The 
eggs take from twenty-eight to thirty days 
to incubate. Goslings require virtually the 
same feed and general care as young ducks, 
the only difference being an increase of grass 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and vegetables; so we will combine young 
ducks and goslings. 

When ducks' eggs have been hatched under 
hens, they need only be allowed to brood 
them for three weeks, unless the weather is 
very cold; in which case leave their mother 
for another week. Never give duck intended 
for eating a free range; it toughens and pre- 
vents them from fattening. On the other 
hand, those intended for stock should be 
allowed plenty of room to roam in after 
they are four weeks old, to insure strength 
and growth. 

Young ducks and goslings must starve for 
the first twenty-four hours of their existence. 
Bill of fare for the first week is as follows: 
half a pint of pinhead oatmeal, cracked 
wheat or stale bread crumbs, two hard- 
boiled eggs chopped fine, half a cup of coarse 
sand, all mixed and just moistened with 
scalding milk. Feed five times a day, as 
much as they will eat in ten minutes. 

Second and third weeks: half a pound of 
175 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ground oats, the same of coarse sand, two 
tablespoonfuls of beef meal, a pint of finely 
cut green clover, rye, or cabbage moistened 
with scalded milk. Feed four times a day. 

Four to six weeks: boil a quart of hulled 
oats for an hour, add one pint of corn meal, 
wheat bran, half a pint of fine grit, the same 
of beef scraps, one quart of clover or any green 
food. Feed four times per diem. 

Six to ten weeks : one quart corn meal, 
one pint wheat bran, a pint of boiled oats, 
pint of beef scraps, half of grit, tablespoonful 
of charcoal, pint of clover. Feed three times 
a day. Then they should be ready to kill. 

Those to be kept for stock have the same 
ration until three weeks old; then they are 
given equal parts of ground feed and bran 
moistened with milk or water. Feed twice 
a day, if on free range; if yarded, add half a 
cup of beef scraps, cut clover, or vegetables 
to double the quantity of grain. 

Young ducks are very nervous and will not 
forget a scare for weeks. You can persuade 

176 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

them to go in any direction if you work slowly 

and quietly. Hurry excites them, and they 

will rush shrieking in every direction except 

the one you would have them go. Don't 

allow any one to run them, for it will put them 

back from one to three weeks and waste just 

that amount of feed. This is a point upon 

which positive and repeated demonstration 

enables me to speak with special authority. 

One summer we had a yard of youngsters 

almost ready for market, when a friend came 

down to spend Sunday with us, bringing a 

young fox terrier with her, to give him a 

day's exercise in the country. Our own dogs 

are taught to take their exercise in the woods, 

but Mr. City Terrier evidently found it slow, 

for during dinner there was a great clamor. 

On a poultry and pet stock farm, if one animal 

sounds the note of alarm, everything joins 

in and there is a conglomeration of peafowl, 

guinea-fowl, hens, ducks, geese, and dogs, 

all shrieking in fright and in different keys. 

We laid down our knives and forks, looked 
N 177 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

at each other in horror, rushed wildly out to 
locate the trouble, and were met by Rover, 
the head of my four-footed police, and piloted 
to the ducks' quarters, to find the terrier 
visitor in the pen of the ducklings, to his great 
amusement and their distraction. Needless 
to say that was the end of his day's healthy 
exercise; he was securely locked up until it 
was time to go home. It took all the sooth- 
ing I was capable of to quiet the ducklings. 
They were off their feed for days, and it was 
fully two weeks before they got back to weight. 
With the old ducks there is the danger of 
their rupturing an egg, which is sure to cause 
trouble, perhaps death; or of breaking a 
leg, which means killing. 

When they have to be handled to weigh 
or kill, a small portable **yard," three feet by 
two and a half, made of laths and wire net- 
ting, is used. It has a gate at one end, 
which is placed at the gate of their inclosure, 
and those wanted are driven slowly into it. 
and it is then drawn quite away from the pen. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The space being small, it is comparatively 
easy to capture them. To avoid alarming 
the whole farm, you take them up bodily 
and hold their bills. 

Do all work of this sort among your stock 
as gently as possible, talking to them in a 
soothing, reassuring way all the time. Noth- 
ing averts so many accidents as accustoming 
your stock to associate your voice with safety. 
This is true not only with poultry and pet 
stock, but with all animals generally. 



THE POULTRY YARD 

The hens must now be put on lighter diet. 
Whole corn at night can gradually give place 
to wheat, two parts, cracked corn, one part. 
Morning mash can have an increase of ground 
oats and a corresponding decrease in corn. 
Take advantage of all spring greens, remem- 
bering that grass must be cut into short 
lengths; otherwise, the hens, in their eager- 
ness to get the desired change of diet, will 

179 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

swallow long pieces, which are apt to cause 
them to become crop-bound. 

Be especially careful about removing drop- 
pings under the roosts, and use kerosene oil 
and carbolic mixture on the perches, nests, 
etc. Cool, fresh drinking water should be 
before them all the time. Dust baths will be 
more constantly in use now than earlier in 
the season, so should be refilled with clean 
cool ashes or dry earth two or three times 
a week. (Let me caution not to use wood 
ashes anywhere round hens or chicks, be- 
cause, should they eat them, bowel trouble 
will be the result.) Whitewash the house 
outside, and allow plenty of ventilation. 

The same strenuous cleanliness must be 
observed in the pigeon-house. These warm 
days all sorts of bad odors arise from unsus- 
pected places; so go through stables, sheds, 
and cellar, scattering lime in corners — out 
of the stock's reach, of course. It will 
purify the air, and kill hundreds of embryo 
insects. 

180 




Launcelot Gobbo the Wonderful 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

THE ORCHARD 

Fences and the trunks of orchard trees will 
be benefited, and the tidiness of the farm 
greatly accentuated, if whitewash is freely 
applied. For this outside work, slack half 
a bushelful of lime in boiling water, add two 
pounds of sulphate of zinc, one pound of 
common salt, and half a pound of whiting 
thoroughly dissolved. Mixed to a proper 
consistency for use with skim-milk, this is a 
whitewash that withstands summer rains 
almost as well as paint. Before applying 
to the fruit trees, give them a dressing with 
what is called Bordeaux, to destroy, or better 
still prevent, any of the fungoid diseases 
attacking them. 

Unless suckers and dead wood were re- 
moved last fall, hasten to demolish all such 
encumbrances now. Before the tree breaks 
into leaf, a thorough spraying should be 
given; for which, of course, a properly con- 
structed sprayer will have to be purchased. 

181 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The first we had was just a portable pump 
with a seven-foot hose and pole, the entire 
outfit costing only $5. It was useful, but 
quite inadequate for an orchard of large 
trees. Three years ago we indulged in a 
much more elaborate pump, with a lead exten- 
sion pipe, for which we gave $11.50; and had 
a large barrel swung on a pair of front wheels 
of an old wagon. Poles were fastened to 
the sides for shafts, so that a horse could be 
hitched to it, converting what had been a 
laborious duty into a light occupation. 

The Bordeaux is made by mixing four 
pounds of copper sulphate, four pounds of 
lime, in fifty gallons of water. This is for 
fungoid diseases. Later, for the general 
spraying, add four ounces of paris green. 
Please understand that spraying must be done 
before the blossom breaks forth, and again 
after the fruit has formed; but never when 
the blossom is in a transitory condition. 

Caterpillar nests, which look like bunches 
of cobwebs up in the branches, should be 

182 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

burnt out. Tie some old woollen rags on a 
long pole, pour kerosene oil on them, light, 
and hold under the nest until it is entirely 
consumed. Currant bushes need spraying 
once or twice before blossoming; otherwise 
they will usually be attacked by a small, 
green caterpillar which destroys the leaves. 
Dig the ground round the roots, and keep 
clear of weeds by hoeing once a week through- 
out the summer. 

Blackberry and raspberry canes, currant 
and gooseberry bushes, young apple, pear, 
plum, or peach trees, must all be planted 
before the 15th of the month. 

Seeds planted in boxes last month need 
pricking out into small individual pots or 
larger boxes. 

THE GARDEN 

Supposing that the ground was ploughed 
and harrowed last fall or last month, and the 
posts put in place for the fence, the wire 
netting can now be erected and hand culti- 

183 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

vation started. Spare no pains in preparing 
the ground row by row, as wanted. Rake 
again and again, removing every stone and 
weed root; then scatter commercial fertiKzer 
on the smooth surface and work thoroughly 
into the soil with a rake. 

The garden line is indispensable if uniform 
accuracy is to be maintained, and without 
it weeding and cultivating of seedlings is 
almost impossible. Two cedar stakes a foot 
and a half long with one end whittled to a 
point, and a strong cord as long as the garden 
securely tied to the other end, will answer all 
purposes. 

Hurry in the early potatoes, if they were 
delayed last month — of course including 
those started in the cereal boxes. The space 
intended for carrots requires extremely good 
cultivation, for the soil must be thoroughly 
pulverized. Seeds are small, and slow to 
germinate under natural conditions; so we 
tie them in a piece of cheese-cloth, steep in 
water for twelve hours, then hang up in a 

184 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

warm room to drip and dry suflficiently to 
prevent their clinging together when being 
planted, which must be done before they 
become really dry. Another aid we furnish 
these delicate seedlings is dropping a radish 
seed every six inches, because they germinate 
quickly and throw a strong seed-leaf which 
breaks the crust over the row, and allows 
the fragile carrot sprout free access. Allow 
two feet from the last row of potatoes, stretch 
the line, and with a pointed stick draw a 
shallow drill in which to scatter the seed. 
Covering must not be more than a fourth 
of an inch, and press down firmly. Between 
each row of carrots allow one foot. Steep 
and use only half the seed at the first, planting 
the remainder twenty days later. With good 
ground and cultivation, you should have car- 
rots for the table about the last week in June. 
Two and a half feet space must divide 
carrots from beets. Prepare ground as be- 
fore, but make the drill a full inch deep, 
dropping seeds half an inch apart, rows two 

185 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

feet apart. Should be ready for use first 
week in June. Keep half the seed for late 
planting. 

Early turnips can start another two feet 
along. Drill half an inch deep, rows a foot 
apart. First of All peas are semi-dwarf, 
but yield much better if given some support. 
We plant every two rows seven inches apart, 
in a drill one inch deep; and when the peas 
are two inches high stick brush between the 
rows, so making a solid hedge of vine when 
developed. Twin rows should be two feet 
apart. 

For onion sets make drill an inch and a 
half deep, placing the sets upright and from 
four to six inches apart. Firm the earth all 
round, and the fourth of an inch over them. 
These will furnish early onions for cooking 
and the main winter crop. For onion seed, 
the soil cannot be too carefully prepared, 
for, like carrots, they are long in germinating 
and extremely fragile. A few radish seeds 

can again be used as pioneers. The reason 

186 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for troubling with seed at all is twofold: 
it furnishes small green onions for the table, 
and sets for next season at a minimum cost. 
Instead of commercial fertilizer, the poultry 
droppings are used for onions, being reduced 
to a powder by grinding in an old chopping 
machine. Sprinkle freely within one inch 
of the centre of the row, and from three to 
four inches each side of it. Unless rain falls 
within a few days, water very thoroughly 
with a sprinkler. Hen droppings seem espe- 
cially desirable for all bulbs and tubers. 

Lettuce seed requires well-enriched soil. 
Drill a fourth of an inch deep, rows one foot 
apart. 

Radish seed for a small family should be 
sown in five-feet lengths, at intervals of ten 
days. Cover seed one third of an inch, 
rows six inches apart. 

From the time seeds are put into the ground, 
cultivation must be continual ; raking be- 
tween rows being frequent enough to destroy 
embryo weeds. Ten minutes' light work with 

187 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

a rake before weeds develop will save hours 
of hard labor with a hoe. Cultivation is 
required, not only to destroy weeds, but to 
supply air, and encourage all the moisture 
from the subsoil to travel upwards, so nour- 
ishing the plant roots as they develop and 
preventing the soil baking. Not cultivating 
the ground round plants is as injurious to 
their health as shutting a child in a room 
without ventilation. 

Lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower plants, 
started in the house in February, should now 
be planted out. Prepare the rows as for 
seed, set the line up; then carry out the 
nursery box and water it thoroughly — other- 
wise the soil will fall away from the roots as 
you take the plants out. With the pointed 
stick used for marking the rows, make holes 
directly under the line — nine inches apart 
for lettuce, a foot for cabbage and cauli- 
flower. Put a little water into the hole ; then 
with a small trowel or large kitchen spoon 
** scoop" a plant out of the box, trying to 

188 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

take all the earth occupied by the rootlets 
of that individual plant. Carefully transfer 
from the spoon into the hole, allowing it to 
sink up to the first leaves. Pack the earth 
around the root and stem; water copiously; 
then draw dry earth up over the wet surface 
to prevent the moisture from evaporating 
or a crust forming. To promote root growth, 
cut off half the length of the outer leaves 
with a pair of sharp scissors. If possible, 
provide some protection from the midday 
sun until the plants are established. 

The straw, or whatever the strawberries 
were covered with last fall, must now be 
removed from the crowns of each plant; 
or if they are in matted, continuous rows, 
open right along, but keep the covering close 
up to the roots at the sides. Leaving the 
covering on the bed prevents weeds springing 
or moisture escaping. Should there be late 
frost, it also protects the roots; and lastly, the 
fruit when gathered is free from sand or dirt, 
so the flavor has not to be spoiled by washing. 

189 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Melons and cucumbers started in the house 
about the first of the month will be good- 
sized plants to put out in the middle of May; 
and fruit can safely be expected three or four 
weeks earlier than from seed sown in the 
open ground in May. 

All my seedling and planting experience has 
been gained in the vicinity of New York, 
and will not, of course, apply to extreme 
North or South; but an old rotation safe to 
follow is : Peas, spinach, onions, potatoes, 
cabbage, lettuce, and radishes, when the 
peach blossoms. Turnips, carrots, corn, and 
beets, when the oak leaf breaks from its bud. 
Beans, cucumbers, melons, squash, and okra, 
when the blackberry blossoms. 

Lay out an herb bed. Our grandmothers 
thought much of their value, and in the 
country, where doctors and drug stores are 
not next door, they may serve for persons 
as well as stock. 

To season dressing for duck, goose, and 
pork, sage is all important; not less are 

190 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

savory, thyme, and marjoram for chicken, 
turkey, lamb, and mutton stew. Aniseed and 
catnip have prevented many a sleepless 
night with the baby. Wormwood, saffron, 
and tansy belong to the poultry principally. 
Lavender and rosemary give the linen and 
wearing apparel a delightful odor, and keep 
away moths. Our grandmothers knew a 
lot of things which meant real home comfort, 
and should be so far removed from insignifi- 
cance as to reach the point of reverence. 

The novice in country housekeeping may 
not know that many of the wild plants of 
early spring make delicious greens and salads, 
and possess medical qualities which it is 
positively sinful to neglect. The narrow 
plantain leaves, if stripped from the stem, 
boiled, and served like spinach, are delicious. 

A most appetizing salad can be gathered 
in any field with a sharp knife. Cut out the 
tender leaves which form the hearts of all 
dandelion roots, add a few sorrel leaves, 
wash, place in a cloth, shake off all the water 

191 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

as you would with any other salad, cover with 
French dressing, and rejoice that you have 
ceased to be a city dweller. 

FLOWER GARDEN 

Dig and fertilize the beds so that they are 
in order for May planting. There are few 
flower seeds or plants which it is safe to put 
out before then; sweet peas being the one 
delightful exception of my^ experience. A 
long narrow mass shows their beauty to the 
greatest advantage. We have a bed two feet 
wide running diagonally between the front 
and back lawn, from which blossoms are to 
be gathered all through the summer. Select 
the desired position, and have one foot of the 
surface soil removed. Then scatter a heavy 
covering of old barnyard manure, to be dug 
in to the depth of another foot. Replace the 
soil previously removed, mix in more manure, 
so that when finished the bed is well enriched 
and broken to the depth of two feet. The 
seeds are best pushed into the soil, two inches 

192 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

below the surface and half an inch apart, 
patting down the top very firmly. This may 
all seem a great deal of trouble, but sweet 
peas positively will not flourish in poorly 
prepared beds. A really good galvanized 
trellis, ten feet long, with stakes at the end 
and in the middle, can be bought for 75 
cents; or straight, medium thin cedar poles 
and chicken wire can be utilized. 

Peonies, shrubs, and all established plants 
must be dug round and fertilized before the 
15th of the month. 

THE BARN 

With the first days of April the grass com- 
mences to spring, and it will benefit the cow 
to get out into the pasture from nine in the 
morning until three in the afternoon ; but not 
until the 15th of the month is it wise to com- 
mence cutting down stall rations. From that 
date noon feed can be omitted, and night and 
morning gradually decreased, until by the 1st 
of May she depends entirely on the pasture. 
"> 193 



CHAPTER IX 

MAY 

/^F course every self-supporting home will 
^^ desire to raise its own national Thanks- 
giving dinner ; therefore turkeys must augment 
the stock. The prevailing idea that these 
birds are difficult to raise compelled our 
outraging patriotic customers for several sea- 
sons, until my admiration for a beautiful 
white gobbler at a poultry show brought 
about an introduction to his owner, and sub- 
sequently an arrangement to spend a week 
on his farm, studying in actual operation the 
methods of feeding and brooding formulated 
during the twelve years he had made a busi- 
ness of marketing turkeys. 

The farm was situated on the side of a hill, 
sufficiently imposing to be called a mountain 
by the New England folks. To one side of 
the house and barn sixty acres were heavily 

194 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

wooded. Perhaps fifty yards down the slope 
was a clearing where stone had been exca- 
vated years before, leaving about an acre 
of shale-covered ground backed with rocks 
twenty feet high at the summit, and sloping 
down at the sides to the natural contour of 
the mountain. In the pre-commercial days 
the small flock of turkeys which were left 
almost entirely to their own devices found 
this rock-sheltered spot, adopted it as a breed- 
ing ground, nesting in the brush and rearing 
such a goodly number of youngsters season 
after season, that when repeated poor crops 
made the farmer resolve to turn his attention 
to poultry farming, he wisely allowed himself 
to be guided by the old bird's instinct, and 
adapted the chosen land to growing require- 
ments rather than risk moving the stock to 
other, personally more convenient, quarters. 
Some half acre of the ground was enclosed 
with wire netting and divided into three 
immense yards in which strange birds were 
to be controlled and young reared. 

195 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

During the winter months, when most 
flocks of turkeys are left to forage for them- 
selves, these people give theirs the best of 
care to insure strong, fertile eggs. A very 
general mistake seems to be neglect of the 
breeding stock, for it is a waste of time to 
hatch eggs so poor in vitality that the results 
die off after a few days' miserable existence. 
It's true turkeys live almost exclusively on 
insects; but frost destroys this natural food 
supply, which makes it imperative that meat 
and bone should be fed. The master of 
the farm laughed at me when I confessed 
that I had always believed that a little corn 
at night was all they needed. He told me 
that after January 1 his birds received regular 
meals. Two mornings a week their break- 
fast consisted of boiled oats with chopped 
meat added; on other days scalded clover, 
hay, and ground feed. Supper is of whole 
corn and barley, alternated with cracked 
corn and Kafir-corn in moderate quantities, 
as breeding birds must not get too fat. 

196 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Early in the spring flocks of eight turkey- 
hens and a gobbler were placed in two of 
the yards, the original five old females and 
gobbler left on free range; so there were 
twenty-one hens to gather eggs from, all the 
first being stolen and set under common 
hens; but when it grew near the end of the 
season and the turkey-hens began to get 
broody, they were allowed to sit. 

If permitted to obey their own inclination, 
young turkeys will gobble up an amount of 
food they have not the power to digest. 
Little and often must be their feeding rule. 
The owner of the farm I am writing of 
thinks that his great success is due to the 
land on which his birds are kept, — the rocks 
and gravel never getting damp enough to 
hurt the young birds, excessive care not to 
inbreed, and periodical introduction of wild 
blood. 

My own experience was with White Hol- 
land turkeys. For small flocks this strain 
seems preferable, being much more domes- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ticated than the Bronze. We covered an 
open shed with wire netting, made two nests 
out of half barrels, screening them thor- 
oughly with cedar boughs, putting up a roost 
which measured ten inches around ; then pro- 
cured a trio of birds, and kept them shut up 
for three weeks, at the expiration of which 
time the wire netting was removed after 
dark one night. It sufficed; the birds al- 
ways roosted and laid there, never wander- 
ing far away. I have been told by a most 
reliable informant that thin roosts on which 
heavy birds do not feel safe are most fre- 
quently the cause of turkeys preferring to 
sleep in trees. 

I adopted the plan of setting the eggs, 
which take twenty-nine days to incubate 
under ordinary hens. Having no old stone 
ground on my farm, a strip of high ground 
partly covered with brush was fenced 
as a compound; and from a near-by stone- 
crusher several loads of waste gravel were 
carted and deposited in the most sheltered 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

corner. For green food we depended almost 
entirely on what we fed, and raised them 
as easily as young chickens. We kept them 
in the enclosure for nine weeks, during 
which time their feed was very like that of 
young chicks. After the first week, cottage 
cheese, boiled liver with onions and garlic, 
all chopped and mixed with pinhead oat- 
meal, crumbled corn-cake or boiled barley, 
and, of course, scalded clover. I am a 
strong believer in green onions or garlic 
for all young birds, they keeping the liver 
active; and any farm can easily provide 
them. 

Until two months old, the most impera- 
tive requisite for turkeys are freedom from 
damp, and cleanliness. Therefore, you can 
imagine my astonishment when, going up 
to a farm on business, I saw a large gray 
goose coming from the barn followed by a 
large clutch of young turkeys. I questioned 
the farm lady and was told that she was a 
very old goose, the only one on the place, and 

199 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

kept merely because she had been the boys' 
pet. One day they found her sitting on a nest 
of eggs, and knowing, of course, that as she 
was a solitary person the eggs would not 
hatch, they removed them to prevent her 
sitting. All being busy people, and not espe- 
cially interested in pet stock, no more was 
thought of the poor old goose's maternal 
desires until four weeks later, when she ap- 
peared with a brood of turkeys who accepted 
her as their mother. The only solution is 
that being deprived of her own, she stole a 
turkey's nest and hatched the eggs; and, I 
believe, succeeded in rearing her odd family 
to profitable market age. 



POULTRY YARD 

The last chapter fully explained our sys- 
tem of caring for infant chicks, whether 
born under artificial conditions or devel- 
oped under the breast of a motherly Biddy 
in the good old-fashioned way. Real in= 

£00 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

fant things receive every care because they 
appeal to the sentimental feeling possessed 
by all humanity for babies. They grow, 
get long legged, ugly, uninteresting, and are 
neglected disastrously. Don't let this hap- 
pen, for it jeopardizes success and diminishes 
profit. 

It is not necessary to say that chickens 
for market should be plump; but it will 
be helpful to state their ten-weeks-old weight 
should be in the close neighborhood of a 
pound and a half. To acquire this, they 
must be kept growing in frame and flesh, so 
that they double in weight every ten days 
up to the fortieth day. After that, their 
increase is neither so fast nor sure, but they 
must be kept going. If they fall back now, 
it will not only postpone summer sales, but 
delay egg production next fall. 

Carefully cull the chicks, keep the best to 
augment egg production next fall; let the 
others go to market. 

Chickens over eight weeks old intended 
201 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for the market should be confined in yards 
with coops three by six feet, with a couple 
of roosts not more than a foot from the 
ground. One of these coops will comfort- 
ably house thirty chicks. Two or three 
incubator firms manufacture and ship them 
all ready for use, for $6 each; but you 
can make quite respectable ones out of 
piano cases or large-sized packing boxes, 
roofing paper, and wire netting, which will 
cost from $1.50 to $2.50. These coops are 
best without floors, and all that is necessary 
in the way of cleaning is their removal to a 
fresh spot once every three days. If, how- 
ever, the land is damp, a floor is necessary. 
The three deadly enemies to poultry all be- 
gin with the same letter — D — damp, draught, 
and dirt. 

For future layers I choose those most 
active in manner, most compact in build, 
with good-sized, bright eyes. There is a 
certain something about a chicken which 
suggests the profitable fowl of the future, 

202 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

but definite, actual points are hard to cata- 
logue. If you are really interested in fowls, 
you will feel what I mean better that a hun- 
dred thousand words could explain; and if 
you are not, a hundred thousand thousand 
would not tell you. 

Do not allow cockerels in your flock if 
you can help it; but when they are young, 
mistakes are easy. When they occur, rec- 
tify as soon as discovered. Even chick 
pullets do not flourish if males are in the 
flock; therefore keep all the latter in the 
market enclosure unless, of course, you have 
been breeding from choice thoroughbred 
birds; in which case, the best of the cock- 
erels must be kept to sell in the fall as stock. 

The best place to erect the young pullets' 
enclosure is in the orchard, for the patches 
of sun and shade it furnishes seem just what 
they want. Failing that, or a spot that has 
some brush on it, you must put up a few shade 
boards. Cut four thin cedar posts four feet 
long, point one end, hammer them into the 

203 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ground at equal distances, adding a roof of 
light timber; or even nail some young cedars 
across and cover with brush. 

The food of young pullets must be varied 
to keep them growing, continuously but not 
too rapidly, because sturdy, strong frames 
are necessary. Hulled oats, animal food, — 
either meat, meal, beef scraps, or scraps from 
the butcher, — wheat, and cracked corn should 
be the staple. 

In the morning mash a quart each of 
ground oats, corn meal, animal meal, two 
quarts of bran, all mixed and moistened with 
water. If you feed fresh scraps from the 
butcher instead of any of the animal meals, 
give them at mid-day, mixing the mash with 
milk if you have it, adding green cut bone 
twice a week. 

Naturally, if the pullets cannot be on a 
grass run, you must provide them with 
green food — cut grass, plantain, clover, let- 
tuce. All birds must have green stuff. If 
you have a large enough place to allow the 

204 



I 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

young pullets to be kept on the colonizing 
plan without any enclosure, so much the 
better; but the roosting coops must be at 
least fifty feet apart, with fresh, cool water in 
thoroughly clean fountains, and good sharp 
grit close to the coops. On the care of 
these youngsters depends next winter's eggs 
and profit, so do not grudge it. 

Market chickens go into the enclosure 
provided for them and must receive differ- 
ent feed, as they now want flesh rather than 
either frame or muscle. Keep the pen well 
sorted out, shipping as the chickens come to 
the pound- and- a-half and two-pound weight. 



cow AND CALF 

As the time drew near for the coming of 
the calf, a frightful anxiety assailed me. What 
ought to be done.^ What should not be 
done.^ She was still giving us four quarts 
of milk night and morning. A visionary 
idea kept floating through my memory of 

205 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

some one having said she ought to be '' dried 
up" six weeks prior to the event; but if 
true, how on earth could it be accomplished, 
when the man from whom we had bought 
her had said most emphatically, " Be sure to 
milk dry, or she'll get milk fever " ? 

The boy of fifteen, who was my only assist- 
ant, I had taught to milk; so from him no 
advice could be expected. At last it occurred 
to me that a few judicious questions to old 
Reika on wash day would probably elicit 
the desired information. So, even remem- 
bering the contempt my ignorance had pre- 
viously called forth, I resolved to smother 
pride and consult the oracle; for the rough 
old Dutch woman possessed a fund of versa- 
tile knowledge and humane sympathy that 
made her advice invaluable to man and beast 
alike when miles away from a doctor or a 
veterinary. So much of my ** gumption" 
originated with the quaint old person, that 
it seems only just to publicly acknowledge 
my debt, though Reika will never know it. 

206 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

To return to Cush: It is well to gradually 
lower the supply of grain feed some six weeks 
before she is due; but take no severe means 
of drying up the milk. Rachel, our first 
cow, would slowly decrease in quantity dur- 
ing the last two months, but not go dry 
until within about ten days of the allotted 
time, which varies from two hundred and 
seventy-four to two hundred and eighty- 
seven days; but her daughter, Daisy, never 
went entirely dry. Still, I could not discover 
that it made the slightest difference in her later 
milking. As the ground feed is diminished, 
wheat, bran, and oil meal take its place, — three 
parts of the former to one of the latter ; and 
noon feed consists of chopped vegetables only. 
For spring calving turn the cow out to pasture 
as early as possible ; for the young grass and 
weeds possess medical properties which no 
mere human knowledge can substitute. Un- 
less the weather is extremely unclement, allow 
the cow out-of-door exercise and plenty of fresh 
air at all times of the year. 

^07 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Have a stall or temporary accommodation 
prepared for the calf, as far removed from 
the cow's stall as possible. Where or what- 
ever it is, it should be light and well venti- 
lated, positively free from damp, projecting 
or jagged nails or timber, and well bedded 
with clean, sweet straw. 

After the two hundred and seventieth day, 
it is well for the cow to have free access to 
her stall all through the day and, of course, 
to be housed at night. Her bed should be 
deep and clean. Dirty stables are the usual 
cause of blood poisoning and all the kindred 
troubles of dam and calf. Always leave the 
cow untethered at such times. Rarely is 
any assistance required, though we keep a 
close watch, and prolonged restlessness is 
taken as a signal of distress, which we at- 
tempt to relieve by offering a warm drink 
consisting of a pail of water into which a 
handful each of bran and oil meal have been 
stirred. 

When the calf is dropped, unless the cow 
208 




.f*" ^ 




Feeding — Going to Pasture 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

commences to lick it at once, scatter a little 
salt over its body, which will attract her to 
the duty. When the calf looks dry, remove 
to its own stall, again offer the cow a warm 
drink prepared as before, and let her first 
feed consist of chopped pumpkin with bran 
scattered over it. Rub and knead the 
udder with a firm, gentle touch for a few 
minutes; then milk. For a few days it will 
be well to milk at least three times a day, — 
morning, noon, and evening. After winter 
calving, let the return to full feed be as grad- 
ual as was the decrease. Spring and summer 
cows can go back on to pasture the second 
day. 

By taking the calf right away from the cow 
before it has nursed at all, the trouble and 
cruelty of weaning is spared you and the ani- 
mals. The prevailing custom of leaving the 
calf with the cow three or four weeks, and 
then ruthlessly separating them, should 
never be tolerated. The first milk taken 
from the cow must be given to the calf, as 
^ 209 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

it possesses certain qualities necessary to 
arouse digestive and other functions of the 
body. 

Teaching a new-born calf to drink is a 
much easier matter than trying to persuade 
it, when four weeks old, that a pail is a sub- 
stitute for its mother. Moreover, at that 
age, it possesses strength enough to make 
its teeth and impatient butts anything but 
pleasant. The new-born baby will, within 
a few hours, be assailed by hunger; and not 
having acquired a knowledge of nursing, 
or even a consciousness of mother, it can 
draw no uncomplimentary comparisons be- 
tween maternal and pail methods or quality 
of the proffered sustenance, which consists 
for three days of milk as taken from the 
cow. Second three days, half-skim, half- 
fresh milk. 

Feed five times: Breakfast, six o'clock; 
lunch, nine-thirty; dinner, twelve; tea, 
three; supper, six-thirty. Quantity, about 
three pints to a meal. Second week, all 

210 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

skim milk, warmed to resemble new milk. 
Third week, one quart of ground feed and 
one quart of oil meal, boiled in four quarts 
of water for one hour, strained, and the liq- 
uid divided amongst the day's meals. Give 
only half the lunch feed, adding the deducted 
quantity to breakfast and supper. Fourth 
week, skip the nine-thirty lunch altogether. 
Fifth week, three o'clock tea also merges 
into supper. Keep up the three feeds a 
day until nine weeks old, when the calf will 
commence to nibble hay, and should have 
a little of the best in the barn. At noon give 
a drink of milk and water, about equal 
parts. From this time on, the milk can be 
gradually decreased, being replaced by more 
well-boiled feed; but remember that it is 
better to underfeed than to overfeed a heifer 
calf, for the desire is to make strength and 
bone rather than flesh. 

We teach the babies to drink by dipping 
two fingers into the pail and then, holding 
the hand palm upwards, rubbing the mois- 

211 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

tened fingers between the calf's lips until 
it can be persuaded to take the fingers into 
its mouth, when a little milk is poured into 
the palm of the hand and, of course, trickles 
down the fingers into the baby's mouth. 
As it commences to suck, the hand is lowered 
into the pail under the milk, and as the com- 
forting influence of the feed is experienced, 
the fingers are slowly withdrawn. Almost 
always this is vigorously resented, and the 
performance has to be repeated many times 
before the whole supply of milk is consumed; 
but usually patient perseverance will be re- 
warded by the calf becoming self-feeding 
within a week. I have had some that would 
suck up the milk from the pail after the 
first introduction; others that would have 
tried Job's patience. 

One thing must be thoroughly understood, 
or your troubles will be many: Never try 
to save time by allowing the calf to retain 
your fingers all through the meal. Such 
indulgence would be as difficult to correct 

212 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

as weaning from its mother. I made this 
mistake with Daisy, and she was an unman- 
ageable terror when, at five weeks old, I 
attempted to enforce discipline. She would 
stand as quiet as the proverbial lamb until 
she detected my fingers slipping away; then 
a sudden baa, a simultaneous plunge, would 
upset pail, milk, and my poor self. After 
two weeks of disastrous battle, we had to 
starve her into submission. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN 

Tomatoes, peppers, and egg-plants should 
be bedded out about the 20th of the month. 
Tomatoes and egg-plants stand two and 
a half feet apart, each one in ground 
very heavily enriched to a depth of three 
feet and a circumference of two feet. Pur- 
sue the same method of planting as for cab- 
bage, except that instead of cutting the 
leaves across, nip out the two heart leaves 
of each plant. Checking top growth makes 

213 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the plant branch and form a stocky bush 
instead of spindly top growth that will 
break under the weight of fruit when it 
forms. 

Prepare "hills," as the allotted space for 
wide-spreading plants is still misleadingly 
called, in the same way and distance as for 
tomatoes, and sow cucumbers, white squash, 
winter squash, and muskmelon by the 12th 
of the month, five seeds to a hill. Press 
into the soil about an inch deep and two 
inches apart. 

Okra should be planted in rows, seeds 
three inches apart, one inch deep. Sweet 
corn, ditto. Lettuce sown in the open 
ground last month will want transplanting 
for heads. The green-pod beans are planted 
in a continous row, seeds two inches apart, 
one inch deep. Make a shallow furrow as 
for peas. 

Thin out carrots to an inch apart in row. 
Turnips and beets, five inches apart. Keep 
every inch of broken ground cultivated and 

214 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

free from weeds, and onions well earthed up 
to the roots. 

Toward the end of the month suspend 
small looking-glasses here and there in the 
cherry trees, from a piece of string about a foot 
long, so that they will turn and twist with 
every breath of wind. They can be bought 
for 5 cents each, and the perpetually chang- 
ing reflections scare the birds away and save 
many pounds of fruit. 

If there is no asparagus bed on the farm, 
now is the time to rectify the neglect. Fifty 
feet by seventeen will be about enough. 
Trenches three feet deep should be dug 
every three feet, a layer of manure a foot 
deep placed at the bottom, part of the earth 
returned, another layer of manure, the 
whole to be well mixed and thoroughly pul- 
verized. In fact, the trenches should be 
prepared as for sweet-peas. Fill the trenches 
to within six inches of the top, seed, and 
cover to the depth of four inches. When 
the young plants are two or three inches 

215 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

high, fill up the trenches to, or a little above, 
surface level. Seed will only cost 15 
cents, and a few dinners of small stalks can 
be cut next year, a really good supply the 
second year, and the third a full crop from 
which three cuttings can be made. If, in- 
stead of seed, two-year-old plants are set, 
they will cost $1.50 a hundred, and not give 
a very superior return. 

Plant sunflowers in all the odd corners 
and devote a small patch to them, not just 
to enhance the ornamental appearance of 
the place, but as a welcome change in feed 
for the poultry on winter nights, when it 
will furnish them with as much fat to be 
converted into warmth as does whole corn. 

Field corn should be planted by the 
15th, and if poultry is the main considera- 
tion, the Early Butler is the best variety be- 
cause the kernels are small. 

If there are no trees in the chicken yards, 
they can still be planted. Plums, peaches, 
and cherries are all good fruits for the purpose, 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

as the constant ploughing necessary to keep 
the yards clean for the hens stirs the earth 
round the trees and turns in well -fertilized 
surface earth, supplying the trees with valu- 
able food. Then hens, by eating the wind- 
falls, decrease the source of insect life and 
the enemies which usually attack plums. 
In return the trees will afford the hens 
welcome shade from summer sun. 



FLOWER GARDEN 

It will be safe after the 10th or 12th 
of the month to set out all ordinary plants. 
If you have house plants to bed out, water 
some time before taking from the pots to 
set the mould. Then turn the plant upside 
down in the left hand if size permits, putting 
three fingers each side of stalk of the plant, 
and with a pencil or small stick push from 
the bottom through the drainage hole, until 
the whole contents is loose and rests on the 
hand. If it is a solid mass of matted roots 

217 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

when the pot is removed, press slightly 
between your hands before planting in the 
hole which must be prepared to receive it. 

If you have specially fine plants that you 
desire to keep for next winter in the house, 
instead of removing from their pots, make a 
hole large enough to bury the pot above the 
rim; for by so doing the roots are kept in 
control, making it easier to remove the en- 
tire plant in the fall and repot for house with 
little check. 

All the seedlings which have been raised in 
the nursery boxes can also be bedded, and 
most of the annuals sown. Pansy seeds 
sown in the open ground now will bloom 
late in the fall when the plants now being 
bedded have run out. Chrysanthemums 
should be planted out now for fall flowering, 
and slips taken plentifully from old plants 
which have been flowering through the 
winter in the house. 

Watch the rose-bushes closely for insects. 
Whale-oil soap and rain water, gently sponged 

218 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

under the leaves, is the best preventive of 
green fly. Get a tight barrel, put about a 
pailful of the cow's droppings into it, fill up 
with rain water, stir thoroughly, let it stand 
for twenty-four hours, and then use the liquid 
around the roots of the roses. Repeat the 
tonic once a week. 



219 



CHAPTER X 

JUNE 

IjlILTHY lucre" is such a factor in our 
-*- environment that a moderate income 
usually prohibits the beautification of our do- 
mains, reducing us to the colorless monotony 
of mere tidiness, excepting in rare instances 
when nature has been recklessly bountiful in 
her gifts. This is the case with pheasants, 
which have the rare combination of being 
ornamental and profitable; which makes 
them a necessary addition to the country 
home of self-supporting aspirants, instead of 
a prohibited extravagance. 

If you have never seen a pair of golden 
pheasants sunning themselves on a fine day, 
you cannot realize what a desirable acquisi- 
tion a pen of these glorious Oriental birds is 
to the garden or grounds; but as we are 

220 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

pledged to the practical, not the aesthetic, their 
market value must receive first consideration. 

Aviaries have become so universal since 
fashion decreed that a wealthy man must own 
a country estate to be among the elite, that 
the demand for birds of handsome plumage 
far exceeds the supply. . The Lady Amherst, 
Reeves, Golden, Silver, and some half dozen 
other fancy pheasants head the list of favor- 
ites. 

Then a big estate is not complete without 
game preserves for the lords of creation to 
shoot over; so, like our English cousins of 
high degree, Americans now spend large sums 
each year in stocking their woodlands with 
game, this consisting chiefly of the plebeian 
members of this same pheasant family, known 
as the English and Ring-neck. This makes 
it advisable to keep at least one pair or trio 
of ornamental pheasants for aviaries; and of 
the common for stocking preserves. 

My personal experience has been confined 
to the Golden and the Ring-neck. A Sea- 

221 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

bright bantam, which earned the name of 
"Little Mother" because of her abnormal 
spirit of maternity, hatched four of the five 
Ring-neck eggs purchased in April of our first 
year on the farm. Not knowing the extraordi- 
nary capacity of this special baby for dis- 
appearing through any available crack as 
soon as hatched, only one was rescued alive; 
but another banty was set late in May on 
another five eggs, and she brought off three, 
which were given to the "Little Mother" to 
brood. One got killed, but the other two and 
the "solitary suvivor" of the first brood safely 
reached maturity. The "survivor" being a 
male and the other two sisters, they were 
kept together and demonstrated that a trio do 
as well as pairs when in captivity. The ten 
eggs cost $3, the enclosure $3, a year's feed 
probably $2. 

The next summer we sold fifteen eggs at 
25 cents each, and raised twelve birds. Two 
males sold for stock at $3 each, three hens 
for $2 each ; two pairs were exchanged to pre- 

222 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

vent in-breeding. The three odd ones were 
sacrificed to Christmas cheer, but even with 
such extravagance, a cash balance remained 
of $7.75, and the stock for the next season's 
output was trebled. 

Of course the first consideration must be 
a bantam hen with motherly longings. If 
your farm or the neighborhood cannot sup- 
ply her, search must be made for a small 
mongrel hen. Arrange the nest as suggested 
for guinea eggs to prevent loss by the little 
fellows getting out when first hatched and 
being chilled to death or lost. Both guinea 
and pheasant chicks possess such adventu- 
rous spirits that the moment they break out 
of the shell their desire seems to be explora- 
tion of the world at large, which usually 
means death within the hour. 



BROOD COOP AND RUN 

The brood coop and run must be just as 
carefully constructed. Allow the hen to re- 

223 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

main with the little ones just as long as she does 
not peck or fight them. A gentle biddy we 
keep in the brood coop until the babies are 
about six weeks old, when the whole family is 
removed to the large enclosure intended for 
the permanent home; and it is seldom that 
the hen is removed until late in the fall. 

There is a general idea that pheasants are 
delicate and hard to rear, originating, doubt- 
less, from the fact that all game birds possess 
the dainty pride which necessitates hygienic 
surroundings for the breeding quarters. Sub- 
jected to the slovenly inattention accorded 
to the hen on ordinary farms, the pheas- 
ant pines and dies. Constitutionally they 
are hardy, healthy birds, exempt from most of 
the diseases common to poultry. Dry, sandy 
soil, sloping slightly to the south to insure 
natural drainage, and well shaded by vines 
or low-growing brush, is the most desirable 
site for their captivity. Failing such natural 
conditions, select the most favorable situa- 
tion, comparatively near the house. Have 

224 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the ground ploughed and, if it is heavy, 
clayey soil, remove about a foot in depth, 
fill in to ten inches with coarse-cut stone, and 
top with fine gravel at least six inches above 
the surface level; this will insure freedorn 
from damp and at the same time provide a 
porous floor which every rain will cleanse. 



HOW TO MAKE ENCLOSURES 

The dimensions of a simple, serviceable en- 
closure are: — 

Length, twelve feet; width, six; height, 
four. Eight posts are required, six feet long 
and six to eight inches in circumference; 
thirty-six feet of twelve-inch timber for the 
foot-board; thirty-eight feet of four by two 
for the top rail ; two shingle slats ; half a roll 
of one-inch wire netting four feet wide ; a pair 
of hinges, and a catch for the door. 

The cost of all this can be approximated 
only, materials vary so much in price; but 
it certainly would not exceed $6, even 
Q 225 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

allowing 75 cents for a workman to dig 
the post holes. Make them two feet deep. 
Erect a post at each of the four corners ; one 
midway on each side; two, two and a half 
feet apart, at the centre of one end 
for gate posts. Nail on the foot-board all 
around; do the same with the top rail, which 
must have two strips across from side to side 
four feet apart. Now cover this entire scaf- 
folding with netting, except, of course, the 
space for the gate, which is to be made 
from the shingle slats covered with wire 
netting. 

If artificial drainage has had to be resorted 
to, it will be an advantage to erect posts and 
place foot-boards before filling in the stone 
and gravel. No house is required, but a 
shelter of some sort should be provided with 
a perch under it, so that the birds are pro- 
tected from storms when roosting. 

Gourds grow so quickly that if the seed is 
planted around the outside of the enclosure, 
the vines will soon provide sufficient shade. 

22G 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

A few cedar boughs in one corner will provide 
the shelter in which these shy, secretive birds 
love to hide at the approach of any strange 
presence. 

If you desire to be extravagant, erect a 
round, rustic enclosure on the front lawn and 
invest in a pair of mature golden pheasants 
to occupy it; for of all the varieties this is 
the most amusing and attractive, because of 
the activity of the birds and their apparent 
desire to show off their beauty. The male 
has an orange and black throat, a golden 
back, steel-blue wing coverts, green shoul- 
ders, and a vivid red breast, so that he has 
every excuse for his vanity. 

For mere ornament, the males of three or 
four fancy species can all be kept in one en- 
closure and will live peacefully; but never 
attempt to keep two or more pairs together, 
for « Mr. Pheasant has such a jealous, pugna- 
cious nature, that a battle to the death is 
sure to ensue. 



227 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

FEED FOR YOUNG PHEASANTS 

Give the usual nothing for twenty-four 
hours; then corn meal, stale bread crumbled 
(half a cupful), one tablespoonful of silver 
sand, one tablespoonful of crushed mustard 
seed, teaspoonful of maw seed (poppy seed), 
one hard-boiled egg chopped fine. Mix all 
together and feed every two hours between 
6 A.M. and 4 p.m. for three days; after 
which milk curds, crushed wheat, pinhead 
oatmeal, chopped lettuce, green onions, and 
broiled liver can be added to the bill of fare. 

A change of diet sharpens appetite, so 
use discretion in alternating the latter dain- 
ties. Meat, vegetables, or fruit are all neces- 
sities to these birds, and when possible should 
be supplied in the more natural form of grubs, 
insects, and berries. Ants' eggs are among 
their favorite foods, and are easily obtained 
by digging into the middle of an ant-hill. 
Meal grubs can also be created by slightly 
moistening meal, then keeping it in a mod- 

^28 



I 




K 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

erately warm place; but do not, I implore 
you, try to breed meat maggots. An old 
breeder assured me that young pheasants 
would not thrive without them and, in my 
ignorant enthusiasm, I sent for a sheep's 
head and hung it up in the empty corn crib 
with a pan underneath, and for days the pure 
country air, which was to give us all new life 
and strength, became tainted with a charnel- 
like smell. On the fourth day I screwed up 
my courage to the sticking point and, armed 
with a long spoon, valiantly mounted the 
steps of the crib and walked into — 

There were horrid, squirmy things in the 
pan. I tried to scoop some of the dreadful 
crawlers, though my internals objected most 
vigorously. It is impossible to say how it 
happened, but somehow the spoon tipped and 
the contents fell on my dress. 

Any one hearing the wild shriek that fol- 
lowed and seeing my mad rush to the house 
would have imagined that all the fiends from 
Hades were after me. Really, it was the 

229 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

nearest approach to downright hysteria I 
was ever silly enough to indulge in. Do not 
try to see how brave you can be. It is not 
worth it. Pheasants thrive quite well with- 
out charnel-house diet. 

After the eighth week, cracked corn, wheat, 
barley, Kafir-corn, rape, — in fact, all the small 
grains, — are staple food for the rest of their 
lives, and can be left always before them in 
self-feeding boxes, for they are not gluttons 
and never eat too much. 

Once a day a crumbly mash containing 
meat and green stuff of some sort should be 
fed if the birds are to be kept in good breed- 
ing condition. 

KILLING AND DRESSING POULTRY 

Even for home consumption it is desirable 
to fatten, kill, and dress poultry knowledge- 
ably. It makes such a difference to nutri- 
ment and flavor. 

Fattening, as understood in France and 
some parts of England, is a semi-artificial 

230 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

process. Birds — capons and turkeys princi- 
pally — are confined in small individual coops 
and fed heavily on moderately soft mash for 
two weeks, by which time the appetite com- 
mences to fail and artificial stuffing is re- 
sorted to. A funnel-like appliance is inserted 
in the bird's mouth and pushed down into 
its throat ; then a liquid food is poured in the 
crop until it is filled. The very large com- 
mercial fattening establishments use an ap- 
paratus which looks something like a street 
knife-grinder's machine, and is worked in 
the same way by the attendant's foot, only 
instead of turning the wheel the treadle 
action controls a pump which forces the 
feed out of a tank down a tube into the bird's 
crop. Both excellent methods, possibly, but 
after seeing them in operation, I confessed to 
preferring a little more humane and whole- 
somely old-fashioned way of providing deli- 
cacies for our table. 

We have coops six feet long by two and a 
half wide, with yards six by ten, into which 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

from five to ten birds are placed three weeks 
before killing. Fowls of a year old when 
properly prepared make good roasters ; taken 
from the general yard, they are tough and fit 
only for soup. Cockerels of ten or twelve 
weeks old will, by special fattening and inac- 
tivity, become plump very quickly. The roost 
in a coop is only a foot from the floor; yard 
and floor of coop are of firmly trampled earth, 
with no loose gravel, sand, or scratching ma- 
terial of any description, the object being to 
keep the birds as placid as possible. 

Morning, noon, and night mash is fed, as it 
is more easily digested and assimilated than 
whole corn. The first ten days the mash 
consists of one quart of ground feed, one- 
third of a teaspoonful of salt, one pint of 
boiled and mashed carrots, potatoes, or beets, 
mixed and moistened with skim milk. Last 
ten days, one quart of corn meal, one dessert- 
spoonful of powdered charcoal, one pound 
of potatoes, and two onions, boiled and 
mashed. Mix all together and make quite 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

soft with skim milk in which beef suet has 
been boiled. Suet is only about 6 cents a 
pound. Half a pound chopped fine is suffi- 
cient for two quarts of milk. Simmer for 
fifteen minutes. Feed in V-shaped troughs 
as much as the birds will eat in fifteen min- 
utes. It must not be allowed to stand be- 
fore them continually, or they will become 
satiated. It was an old Frenchman who 
gave me this hint about suet, which is excel- 
lent, making the flesh deliciously tender and 
juicy. 

The effect of food on flavor has been set 
forth as most important in the New York 
Market Journal. They call poultrymen's at- 
tention to the fact that the exquisite flavor of 
the canvasback duck is due to the wild celery 
it feeds upon. The delicious Congo chick- 
ens owe their superior excellence to the pine- 
apples they eat. The grouse meat of the far 
Western plains is aromatic with the wild sage. 

The feeding for mere weight or size will, in 
the near future, give place to the higher art 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

of gratifying the palate. The capon now 
ranks high above ordinary poultry without 
any special methods of feeding. How much 
greater must its superiority be when fed for 
flavor as well as for tenderness and size ! 
Now and then some enthusiastic thorough- 
bred raiser will descant on the merits of his 
favorite breed, — " their tender, juicy flesh 
and rich, highly flavored eggs, not to be com- 
pared with the 'dunghills' long ago dis- 
carded," — forgetting that the "dunghills" 
were truly named, and that from hard scratch- 
ing in the barnyard for a living resulted the 
small, tough bodies and ill-flavored eggs 
complained of. His thoroughbreds have a 
yard to themselves, are fed on the choicest 
grains and grasses, and have only pure 
water to drink. Feeding for flavor must 
sooner or later become a generally acknowl- 
edged part of poultry culture. 

After the fattening has been successfully 
accomplished, correct killing and dressing 
must follow to insure excellence. Twenty- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



four hours before killing birds are removed 
to individual coops a foot and a half square, 
with wire netting sides, floor of slats half 
an inch apart, and legs two feet high. The 
open flooring and elevated position allovv the 
droppings to fall through and out of the 
bird's reach. For twelve hours they have 
milk before them 
all the time, but 
no food. Last 
twelve hours 
nothing but water 
to insure the crop 
being empty. 

The most hu- 
mane and best 
way of slaughter- ^ 

ing the poor things is to have a string with a 
noose at one end suspended from a beam in 
some outhouse. Slip the bird's feet through 
the noose. Instruct the operator to stand with 
his back to the bird ; take the body under his 
left arm, breast uppermost, the head in his 

235 




A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

left hand; open the beak by pressing at the 
sides between thumb and finger, and with a 
French killing knife stab up into the extreme 
back of the roof of the mouth. Give a quick 
turn to the left and withdraw the knife. 
Leave the bird suspended for a few minutes 
before taking the feet from the noose. 

Plucking must be done at once. Commence 
with the long wing and tail feathers; then 
from the shanks, down the inside of the 
thigh, and over the breast to the neck. Take 
only a few feathers at a time ; grasp as closely 
to the skin as possible, and pull quickly tow- 
ards the head. At first it may be diflficult 
to remove the feathers without tearing the 
skin, but a little assurance and some practice 
will render it quite easy. After the feathers, 
all pin-feathers or quills have to be extracted. 
Then hang the bird up to become quite cold 
before drawing; but don't delay more than 
two hours. 

Cut off the head with a sharp knife, leaving 
about three inches of the neck, slit the skin at 

236 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the back lengthwise, push back, and cut out 
the neck-bone close to the body. With the 
point of the knife sever the membrane which 
holds the windpipe to the breast, cut off the 
shanks, make a straight cut from the end of 
the breast-bone, being careful to sever the 
skinny flesh only. Continue to cut in a 
circle round the vent, and the bird can be 
drawn without any unseemly exposure or 
soiling of the flesh. 

Place a peeled onion or piece of charcoal 
in the body, and hang up in a cold cellar 
for twenty-four hours. Following the above 
method of drawing leaves the bird unmarred; 
and the neck skin being folded under the 
back after the stuflfing has been put in holds 
it firmly in place for roasting and carving. 
The few stitches necessary from the breast- 
bone down do not show when the bird is 
trussed. The gizzard and liver must be care- 
fully severed from the remaining parts to 
avoid breaking the gall-bag, which is a 
small sac lying between the two parts of 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the liver. Hold the gizzard with the nar- 
row, smooth line that runs on one side up- 
permost. Lay the edge of the knife on the 
line and make a small, shallow cut, which 
will reveal a gray-colored inner bag that is 
to be removed intact; hence the necessity 
for the cut being shallow. 

It has not yet become the general market 
custom in this country to draw and truss 
birds at once; but private customers will 
quickly appreciate the improvement in flavor 
that immediate attention to cleanliness makes, 
and before long I firmly believe that the 
present custom of keeping and shipping un- 
drawn birds will be condemned by the health 
authorities. When birds are going to cus- 
tomers, instead of being sent in a sprawling 
condition, they are trussed as for roasting, 
leaving a piece of charcoal inside to insure 
perfect sweetness. 

Ducks are treated in the same way, ex- 
cept that we give them watercress and green 
celery during the fattening process. The 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

former we have a quantity of, both wild 
and under cultivation; and the latter is 
sown broadcast, just to cut green for this 
purpose. 

Ducks' feathers are worth 18 cents a 
pound; White Wyandottes', from 14 to 16 
cents a pound. In both cases onl}/ the soft 
body feathers are meant. If you desire to 
keep them for home use, make cheese-cloth 
bags about a foot and a half square; half 
fill with geese, duck, or chicken feathers. 
Have ready a tub of warm suds; to every 
four quarts add one teacupful of the follow- 
ing mixture: Two ounces of ammonia, a 
teaspoonful of saltpetre, and a quart of rain 
water thoroughly amalgamated. Wash the 
bag of feathers by sluicing up and down in 
the tub for about half an hour. Squeeze 
the water out as nearly as possible without 
wringing; then hang in the full sun, shaking 
the bag and reversing the ends by which it 
hangs until the contents are quite dry. It 
may take two or three days. If so, take 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

them into the house as soon as the sun goes 
down, repeat the washing and hang during 
midsun hours for perhaps a week, by which 
time the feathers will be fit for pillows. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN 

Succession crops commence with this 
month. The turning of the soil and sub- 
sequent cultivation of all planted crops can 
be accomplished more thoroughly and in 
much less time if a hand plough is used. 
They are made with adjustable handles and 
a full complement of attachments for culti- 
vating, hoeing, raking, planting, and seed- 
ing. The entire outfit will cost about $12, 
but can be reduced by dispensing with 
individual attachments until the handle, 
wheels, and plough only remain, which cost 
in the neighborhood of $3. We dispensed 
with the "seeder," which is the most ex- 
pensive attachment. The other implements 
complete cost us $9, and for five years have 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



been in constant use from April to November. 
Really, it seems one of the indispensables 
for a home garden where women folks and 
children take an active interest in the work. 

Early peas, lettuce, and radishes will all 
be used by the 20th. Clear out the vines, 
scatter fertilizer on the surface, and run the 
hand plough up 
and down the row 
two or three times . 
Rake, mark off 
with line as be- 
fore, and use for 
the second sow- 
ing of carrots in place of peas, peas where 
the lettuce was, beans taking the place of 
radishes. 

Stake the tomatoes and prune down the 
branches slightly. Cucumbers, melons, and 
squash planted last month will need pro- 
tection from insects. Get some old barrel 
hoops ; cut one in halves and tack on a whole 
hoop, crossing the two halves in the centre. 

Ml 




A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Stretch mosquito netting all over the arched 
foundation, stitching the edge securely to 
the round hoop, and you will have a pro- 
tector as effectual as any of the expensive 
wire contrivances sold for the purpose. 

Prevention being better than cure, it is 
advisable to scatter powdered sulphur lightly 
on grape-vines to avoid mildew. Thinning 
out the fruit in June will insure better-sized 
and better-shaped branches. Leave only 
two to a branch, and with a pair of sharp- 
pointed scissors cut out the small grapes 
from each bunch. All fruits are improved 
by moderate thinning. 

This is the best time of the year to go 
over the strawberry beds, and "start" as 
many plants as you wish for a new bed. 
An old English method which we have em- 
ployed to advantage is to set the baby 
plants, which form at the end of the run- 
ners, in the earth between the rows with- 
out severing them from the parent plants, 
which sustain them until they have devel- 

242 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

oped strong roots of their own, a process 
which takes about three or four weeks, dur- 
ing which time the ground for the new beds 
should be well manured and dug deeply. 



FLOWER GARDEN 

The spring bulbs, such as narcissus, tulips, 
crocuses, lilies-of-the-valley, usually found 
in most old farm gardens, often suffer 
death from the inexperienced city tenant 
cutting down the leaves when the blossoms 
fade, instead of allowing them to turn quite 
yellow before removing; for whether the 
strength of the dying leaves goes back into 
the roots or not I don't know, but most 
surely the bulbs die if the foliage is cut down 
whilst green. Dahlias and cannas of all sorts 
must go in at once. Spare time to water 
the young plants every evening if the weather 
is dry, for they need lots of moisture to 
produce flowers. 



243 



CHAPTER XI 

JULY 

/^ATS of high degree, like toy dogs, are 
^-^ always salable. Being charming pets, 
their addition to the home savors more of 
pleasure than of a business responsibility. 
Our original Maltese cats had beautiful 
silvery coats and well-shaped heads, with 
large amber eyes accentuated by the black 
rims which encircled them. For this reason, 
their kittens found a ready market at $1 
each. After the first sale, all such money 
was saved until it amounted to $10, when 
a Persian kitten of excellent family, but only 
seven weeks old, was for sale. 

I bought it for $12, a year later paid $15 
for her to visit a cattery which owned a 
celebrated king, and a few months later 
realized $45 from the sale of three kittens. 

244 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The fourth was kept, because it seemed wise 
to establish a cattery. Another $5 from the 
sale of more Maltese kittens was added to 
the $45 and a king bought. Thus our plebe- 
ian mouse-catchers bought and maintained 
the aristocratic felines, until they were fairly 
established as money-makers. 

If you have taken the hint given in the 
first instalment of this series about pretty 
Maltese cats in the barn and feed house, 
you will soon have a cat fund to speculate 
with. Commencing as I did, with a kitten, 
necessitates a loss of time; and frequently 
a fairly good Persian mother puss can be 
bought for $50, that will present you, inside 
of four weeks, with kits that will sell in 
about six months for $10 or $15 each. 

The only objection to this latter plan is 
that cats are faithful creatures, and chang- 
ing home and owners may cause fretting 
which will weaken both mother and kittens. 
So perhaps the medium course of purchasing 
a young cat would be the safest to advocate, 

M5 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for she would become reconciled to the change 
of home before the necessity of sending her 
for service arises. 

A HOME-MADE CATTERY 

If you are accustomed to cats and will 
exercise vigilant care, a solitary animal can 
be allowed the run of the house; but when 
multiplication commences, a cattery is advis- 
able. For a long time mine was a room 
which had a window opening on the slant- 
ing roof of a small extension. From the 
top of the window to the ground and five 
feet beyond the extension wall, an inclosure 
of wire netting was made, on the order of a 
flying yard for pigeons. From the extension 
roof to the ground, a wide slab of wood 
with the bark left on was placed, making a 
runway which afforded the inmates much 
amusement and exercise. An old cherry 
tree near by shaded one side of the roof and 
yard; so even on hot days there was a cool 
spot for afternoon siestas. 

246 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

The furnishings of the room consisted of 
a square of rag carpet and boxes about two 
feet square without lids, in which a pad, 
such as is used for babies' cribs, was placed ; 
these made warm, draught-proof beds. In 
the summer the boxes, turned upside down 
and covered with double strips of Turkish 
towelling, provided individual, airy sleeping 
places. 

From the centre of the ceiling a cloth- 
bound ball was suspended by a long string. 
In one corner a long-handled lash whip was 
fastened. On the wall was a cage of birds; 
near the window a deck chair. In two 
corners were zinc-lined boxes, a foot and a 
half square, six inches deep, and half filled 
with ashes, on a strip of oil-cloth. In another 
corner was a butter crock for water and a 
couple of plates for food. The ashes were 
changed every day and the cloths or pads taken 
out, shaken, or hung on a line, weather per- 
mitting, to air. 



247 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

DIET FOR CATS 

Breakfast consisted of one strip of fat 
bacon about an inch square for each cat, 
and a pint of skim milk for three. Dinner: 
lean meat (generally gravy beef, or liver which 
had been stewed in the oven) mixed with 
whatever vegetables we had had on our own 
table. Supper: milk as in the morning. 
Butcher days — Wednesdays and Saturdays 
— they had a fresh bone with about an ounce 
of meat on it. I know most breeders will 
be horrified at this, as they generally advo- 
cate chopping the meat fine. This seems 
all wrong to me. Cats have splendid teeth, 
which were certainly intended for use. Leav- 
ing the meat on the bone insures proper 
mastication, which stimulates the flow of 
saliva, the greatest aid to digestion. 

The strip of bacon is prompted by the 
fact that all the kitchen cats we ever had 
have always begged a piece when it is cut 
for breakfast; and after eating it they will 

248 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

go straight to the milk, drinking it with the 
greatest rehsh; then they wash themselves 
industriously. Moreover, I think the salt 
and fat act as a medicine, for our cats are 
never afflicted with worms — one of the worst 
troubles breeders of high pedigreed cats have 
to contend with. 

Diet is varied as often as possible, fish or 
chicken taking the place of other meat, with 
rice pudding, bread and milk, a piece of 
sponge cake or toast at supper-time. A 
bunch of catnip, green or dried, is given once 
a week. 

The cage of birds may seem a strange 
adornment for a cattery, but there is a reason 
for it. Cats bred to sell as pets are much 
more attractive to the average purchaser if 
accustomed to caged birds and trained not 
to molest them. 

The deck chair was for my own comfort. 
I love cats, and took my hours of rest and 
amusement in the room. Another of my 
fads was to have all our pussies friendly with 

249 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the dogs. These little items of education 
are as easily taught as cleanliness, and save 
kitty all sorts of misery when she goes to a 
strange home. 

HOW TO KEEP THI:M DAINTY 

The coats of your cats should be kept in 
the best possible order. Nothing seems to 
insure this better than daily brushing, which 
prevents tangling and breaking. If they are 
healthy and the beds kept clean, they rarely 
look dirty. If by any chance they do ac- 
quire smudges, rub bran into the fur and 
brush it out; the soil soon disappears. 

Fleas are pests to be dreaded for all furry 
pets in warm weather; so take time by the 
forelock, and by rigid care in the cattery 
check their approach. Once established, it 
is impossible to exterminate them without 
injury to the cats. The floor of the room 
should be washed three times a week with 
water to which carbolic acid has been added. 
Vermin powders I don't like, because they 

250 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

invariably nauseate the poor animal, who, 
objecting to the foreign substance in her 
coat, tries to remove it by licking. A weak 
solution of spirits of camphor can be dabbed 
on the cat's skin if the hair is divided in 
small patches, as one would apply a tonic 
to the scalp, and will render it unpalatable 
to Mr. Flea. 

KITS AND THEIR CARE 

About mating: A young queen is apt to 
become restless and unusually playful when 
five or six months old; but as she is entirely 
too young to go visiting, keep her under 
close guard until the unaccustomed anxiety 
to go out passes. It will be advisable to 
write to two or three catteries, giving your 
cat's pedigree and personal description, so 
that they can judge if they have a king to 
whom it would be desirable to send her. 
Then you will be prepared with all necessary 
information, and can take or ship your 
queen when the journey can no longer be 

251 



fl 

A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME ^ 

postponed. If the young cat can be held 
back until after a year old, it allows full 
time for development; but after nine months 
of age it often does a healthy, strong queen 
more harm to fret and fidget than to assume 
the strain of maternity. Therefore, individ- 
ual cases must determine the most desirable 
age. 

The usual litter — four kittens — are too 
many for any puss mother to nourish well; 
so, as Persians are too valuable to be con- 
signed to a watery grave, a foster-mother 
should be arranged for. This is an easy 
matter if you have plenty of cats about the 
farm buildings. We bought a tiger kitten 
as a playfellow for our first Persian. They in- 
variably have kittens about the same time, 
and Tabitha adopts the Persians as a 
matter of course, Kliner relinquishing the 
care of her babies with all the indifference 
of a fashionable beauty, until they become 
interestingly pretty. Then my lady sefems 
to take a mother's pride in them. 

252 




Argent Splendor (a Superb Specimen of his Kind) - Kliner 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Some cats become very excitable and rest- 
less as the time approaches for their babies 
to arrive. Under such conditions, use every 
means to soothe and quiet the patient, 
by keeping other cats away and induc- 
ing her to drink a little hot milk. If 
there is a dark cupboard in the room, it 
is likely to attract at such times and makes 
the best of bedrooms. If there is not such 
a fixture in the room, a large box with cur- 
tains will answer the purpose. Of course, 
kings should not be permitted access to the 
room at such times. Mother cats will need 
restricting to their special quarters from 
about the second week of motherhood until 
the fifth, or possibly the sixth. 

Health and strength are endangered if 
more than two families are permitted in 
the year. I prefer kittens to arrive in early 
spring and fall, for then they have an oppor- 
tunity to develop before the severe heat or 
cold prevents outdoor exercise. 

Cats love human companionship, and if 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

you have children who are fond of animals, 
it is a good plan to allow the cattery to be 
used occasionally as a play-room. Of course 
this suggestion does not apply to little ones 
under five years of age, who would pull 
and tease the cats. Some of the best kit- 
tens I ever saw were the constant play- 
fellows of two little girls, aged respectively 
eight and ten, who dressed them up and 
made doll-babies of them. The kitty-cats 
seemed to enjoy it as much as the children, 
who fed, cleaned, and took full care of them. 
The original mother puss had been a pres- 
ent to the children, and money from sales 
was banked for them; and, I assure you, at 
the end of five years it had developed into a 
very nice little nest-egg. 

THE POULTRY YARD 

Insects are the most disagreeable feature 
of poultry keeping, but must be discussed, 
as it needs the greatest vigilance just now 

254 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

to prevent their developing uncontrollably 
during the coming winter, when the birds 
may have to be imprisoned for days at a 
time during heavy snows. Few amateur 
poultry raisers know that there are several 
distinct varieties of vermin which seem spe- 
cially created to torture fowls into an un- 
profitable state of debility. 

The man who examines his fowls and, 
finding them free from vermin, congratu- 
lates himself, little guesses that after dark 
an army of blood-sucking, fiendish mites 
swarm from every crack and crevice of old 
or neglected houses to steal the vitality of 
his fowls. 

Theobald says there are eighteen varieties 
of mites. Dr. Woods (one of the best au- 
thorities) assures us only five are common — 
something to be thankful for. The bird 
tick, Dermanyssus Avium, an imposing name 
for something not larger than a grain of 
sand, usually infests pigeon lofts; but as 
it is carried by all wild birds, the nests of 

^55 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

martins and swallows often introduce it into 
the barn, where it is a great source of annoy- 
ance to cattle and horses. When empty, 
it is almost colorless; but having sucked 
blood, it changes to bright red, then to almost 
brown. So close to this comes the gray or 
red mite, or poultry tick, that they are almost 
identical, the only difference being that the 
poultry tick is slightly larger, and usually 
much more plentiful. Coops that have been 
used year after year for brooding frequently 
harbor such quantities that baby chicks are 
tortured to death by them. They are pale 
grayish in color, with darker patches showing 
through the skin. When filled, they vary 
from dark red to almost black. 

The necessity for fighting these minute 
pests will be apparent when it is known that 
Dr. Woods tried the experiment of keeping 
a dozen of the latter in a box, and that in 
two weeks they had increased to hundreds. 

Another general mistake which causes end- 
less trouble is the idea that a house which 

256 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

has not been in use through a winter is freed 
from vermin. It is an authenticated fact 
that two years' starvation has as little effect 
on these horrid little wretches as the most 
severe frost. They just sleep through un- 
comfortable times, and awake refreshed and 
eager for prey. 

Another unsuspected menace to poultry 
is the harvest mite, or jigger. These insects 
normally feed on plants, abounding in black- 
berry patches and tall weeds; but, swept 
off by passing birds, animals, or even humans, 
some species immediately bury themselves 
in the skin of the unfortunate victim. This 
is fatal to the insect, but raises a large 
blister which itches intolerably, often caus- 
ing inflamed patches sometimes mistaken for 
chicken-pox. I once had a small dog driven 
nearly crazy by them. Vinegar, or carbolic 
acid and water, will stop the itching and 
remove the inflammation. It is safest to have 
hens avoid any infested place, or if you live 
in the Southern states, where they are most 
s 257 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

common, keep the birds yarded during July 
and August, when they are most prevalent. 

All mites and ticks being much alike, 
there is nothing to be gained by further 
description. To guard against the bedbug 
class of mite — the first two species — fumi- 
gate the houses with sulphur or tobacco once 
every two weeks when possible. All through 
the winter apply liquid lice killer, — kerosene 
oil and carbolic acid mixed, — and when 
weather permits in summer and fall, white- 
wash thoroughly. 

The hen chigoe, or American hen flea, is 
small and not unlike other fleas, except that 
it does not hop, but walks like a fly. Dark, 
damp quarters serve for breeding- places for 
their eggs; so let in all the sunlight pos- 
sible. If there are any parts of the house 
inaccessible to sun, scatter air-slacked lime 
on them. 

These are fair samples of the often unsus- 
pected enemies which must be fought con- 
stantly. Don't wait to know that such 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

creatures are lurking in the coops and houses ; 
take it as an established fact, for it is one of 
those cases where prevention is better than 
cure. The common louse, which is insep- 
arable from fowls, is far less harmful than 
the minute night wanderer, for the simple 
reason that everybody who keeps poultry 
wages ceaseless war on lice with insects, 
powders, dust baths, etc. 



MOULTING 

The season at which hens moult has such 
a direct influence on the production of winter 
eggs that poultrymen have devoted much 
study to the subject. Unless a bird moults 
early in the fall, it is impossible to get it into 
condition before the really cold weather, for 
the growth of new feathers requires so much 
oil there is none left to provide animal heat; 
so the food which should be converted into 
eggs has to furnish the warmth necessary to 

keep the bird alive. 

259 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

After many experiments, it has been gen- 
erally conceded that by withholding food 
entirely for three weeks, and then feeding 
heavily the rations suitable for the formation 
of feathers, the moulting season can be con- 
trolled. The last week of the month mature 
hens are turned out on free range to forage 
for their own living. About the end of the 
second week in August flocks are returned 
to their respective yards, roosters being kept 
in a separate enclosure until the breeding 
pens are made up in January. 

Feed a morning mash of equal parts — 
wheat bran, ground feed, and oil meal. Noon : 
meat scraps, vegetables, or some sort of 
green. Night: wheat, corn, and oats mixed. 
The first few days give only half meals, as 
the excessive heavy feed might cause indi- 
gestion after the semi-starvation. By the 
10th of September the birds should be in 
possession of full new coats of feathers and 
robust health. Three weeks after reyarding 
change the diet to regular egg rations, cut- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ting down the corn and oil meal, using 
clover hay, wheat, and green bone as staple 
ingredients. Old hens, not to be kept 
through the winter, should be disposed of 
before they commence to moult, for then it 
will be impossible to fatten them. 

Keep a close watch on cracked corn dur- 
ing July and August. It is likely to become 
mouldy, and if fed in that condition, it will 
cause sour crop and bowel trouble. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN 

If you wish to increase your currant or 
berry patch for next year, there is no neces- 
sity to buy new plants if there are already 
a few good varieties on the farm. Follow 
the old English plan as recommended for 
strawberries last month. Bend down some 
of the outer branches until a part can be 
pegged down to the ground without breaking. 
Forked branches from green trees are the 
best stakes to use. Cut them with the forked 

261 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

parts about four inches long, and the main 
stick two or three. Point the ends of the 
forks and peg down the branch at an easy 
angle from the bush. Draw the earth up 
round the fork, and about the first week in 
August the branch can be severed from the 
bush close to the peg, and an individual 
plant will be the result. 

As the green beans, peas, summer cab- 
bage, lettuce, etc., ripen and are consumed, 
clean out the vines, cultivate, enrich, and 
replant the ground. Winter cabbage, fall 
spinach, celery, leeks and Brussels-sprouts 
— all the foregoing are gross feeders and 
demand heavy fertilizing with well-rotted 
stable manure. Leeks stand six inches apart 
in the rows; Brussels-sprouts, a foot. Cel- 
ery rows should be four feet apart to allow 
space for the deep "earthing up" later in 
the season. When setting out celery plants 
great care must be taken to spread root- 
lets, but only the root must be buried, for 
if the heart of the plant is covered, it will 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

not grow. Pack the earth firmly round the 
root and water copiously and then cover 
with dry earth. 

FLOWER GARDEN 

July is almost a "standstill" month, yet 
a little work will assure late flowers. Bal- 
sam and nasturtium seeds, sown now in 
sheltered spots, will bloom till the end of 
November. Cutting off blossoms before they 
commence to fade will induce geraniums, 
fuchsias, stocks, etc., to throw up new flower 
stalks. You can take slips from all plants 
during this month. Permanent vines should 
be tied up to trellises as the new wood grows. 

FARM CROPS 

Any odd half or whole acres adjacent to 
the poultry houses, available for planting, 
should now be turned over and seeded with 
crimson clover, to aid the supply of green 
food in late fall and early winter. If the 

263 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

orchard should be old, worn-out ground, 
plough and sow clover now to turn under 
in the spring. It will renovate the ground 
and feed the trees, as clover is a legume and 
attains its nitrogen from the air, conveying 
it to the soil; so that land on which clover 
has been grown will need only a phosphate 
top dressing the following year, even for such 
greedy plants as cabbage and celery. 

Should the hay crop have proved poor, 
crimson clover and cow-peas sown early 
this month will be ready to mow and cure 
the last of August or the first of September, 
if it is a late season. Either make good hay 
for poultry and stock, having about the same 
food value as wheat bran. 



THE cow 

The cow suffers severely from flies and 
heat during the sultry days of July and Au- 
gust, especially if she has to be tethered. 
Loose in a fenced pasture, she can rub the 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

pests off against the bushes, and any lot 
worthy the name of pasture should have a 
pond or stream for her to wade into; but 
when fifty feet of rope or chain limit her 
wanderings, be thoughtful enough to select 
a shady spot for her tenting ground, and 
keep fresh, cool water within her reach. 
Before turning her out in the morning, brush 
off with some one of the good fly lotions; 
and on the few record-breaking days which 
visit us every summer, soak a burlap horse- 
blanket in water and throw it over her; the 
evaporation w^ill keep her cool. If that 
seems too much trouble, at least let her 
have a comfortable siesta in a darkened 
stable from one o'clock until three-thirty. 
It is the single cow which usually suffers 
the most, so it is comparatively easy to re- 
lieve the trouble. A herd compels a prop- 
erly fenced pasture, where they are free to 
wander at will. Selfishly, the cow's comfort 
should be attended to during the summer, 
for she will give more and better milk. 

^65 



CHAPTER XII 

AUGUST 

"I3EYOND the gratification of receiving 
-^-^ public assurance that your birds are 
'*the real thing," a show-room indorsement 
increases profits considerably. It changes the 
value of thirteen eggs from the ordinary 
market, 25 or 40 cents, to $2; occasionally 
even $5. 

Every poultry man and woman should 
thank the clubs and fanciers who have suc- 
cessfully established shows all over the coun- 
try. They arouse general interest in good 
birds, which bring the very cream of profit 
to the breeder industrious enough to study 
the standard and develop, point by point, 
until a near approach to perfection is reached. 

How is this to be accomplished ? 

Of course there must be some thorough- 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

bred birds of whatever kind you intend to 
devote your energies to, as a foundation on 
which to work. 

Many people seem to think that a thor- 
oughbred means show specimens — a great 
mistake. You may have a bird which has 
been hatched from an egg laid by a cham- 
pion, but which develops a wry tail, comb, 
wattles, or ear-lobes all out of proportion, 
or numerous other faults which disqualify 
for show purposes. These are the birds 
which swell breeders sell for a dollar or a 
dollar and a half. They are, in all prob- 
ability, from the best of stock, and judi- 
cious mating may enable you to rear winners. 
"Blood will tell" is nowhere more positively 
demonstrated than in bird or animal culture. 
It is better to buy faulty birds of a celebrated 
strain than a perfect " accident," for its 
progeny is nearly sure to show some, perhaps 
all, the mongrel of its ancestors. 

The law of improvement demands a study 
of faults and shortcomings rather than good 

267 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

points. Extremes meet and form a perfect 
whole simply explains the line to follow. 
Further to exemplify: A hen with legs too 
short and a comb too large should have for a 
mate a bird whose legs are a little too long, comb 
a little too small, rather than a perfect specimen 
who would have no tendency in these directions 
to counterbalance the hen's weaknesses. 

Again, you should have a fairly good lot 
of hens to select from. Commence by pick- 
ing out the very best; study her closely; find 
the fault or faults, and select four or five 
others from the same pen with similar short- 
comings, so that in considering the cockerel 
to be yarded with them there will be a 
general benefit. Naturally, if you can afford 
to start with a trio of prize winners, much 
time and labor will be saved. 

If you have been breeding from nearly 
perfect birds this summer, your preference 
of youngsters will be easily made; and as 
one can never be quite sure of development, 
single out nine or ten of the most promis- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ing, even if you only purpose sending two 
or three to the show room. Put them into 
small quarters and gradually accustom them 
to being handled. A little patience will soon 
get them used to eating out of your hand. 
This prevents their being frightened when 
put up for public admiration, or during the 
judge's handling and examination. Gradu- 
ally lessen their pen space till they have no 
more room than in the exhibition coop. Such 
treatment prevents your birds fretting and 
pining; insures their showing to the best ad- 
vantage and returning home in good condition. 

On the other hand, take birds straight 
from a large yard and place them in the 
restricted quarters of a show-room coop — 
they fret, won't eat, flutter, and fight to get 
out when any visitor to the show stops to 
look at them, so that their beauty has no 
chance of demonstration. The poor judge 
has to tussle with fluttering wings, and has 
to half guess the points. 

These things are frequently neglected by 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the amateur; rarely by the old exhibitor, 
who has learned the advantage of having 
birds or animals sufficiently self-possessed 
to be "cute and cunning." 

Remember, too, one good point won't count 
without general symmetry and condition. 

Every breed has its standard weight. 
Space forbids full quotations, but here are a 
few of the most popular: — 





Roosters 


Hens 


Cockerels 


Pullets 




Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Plymouth Rocks . 


9i 


7i 


8 


6i 


Wyandottes . . 


H 


6J 


7i 


5i 


Light Brahmas ^ . 


12 


9i 


10 


8 


Langshans . . 


lO 


7 


8 


6 


Andalusians . . 


^ 


5i 


5i 


4i 


Minorcas . . . 


8 


6i 


6i 


5i 




Adult 
Toms 


Hens 


Cockerels 


Pullets 




Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Bronze Turkeys . 


36 


20 


25 


16 


White Holland . 


26 


16 


16 


10 



1 Dark Brahmas are a pound lighter all through than light Brahmas. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 





Gander 


Goose 


Young 
Gander 


Young 
Goose 


Tousouse Geese . 
Embden Geese . 
African .... 


Lbs. 
20 
20 
20 


Lbs. 
18 
18 
18 


Lbs. 
18 
18 
16 


Lbs. 

16 

14 




Drake 


Duck 


Young 
Drake 


Young 
Duck 


Pekin Ducks . . 


Lbs. 
8 


Lbs. 
7 


Lbs. 
7 


Lbs. 
6 



Rouen Ducks, one pound heavier all through. 



The Standard of Perfection instructs judges 
to deduct two points a pound for any deficit 
from standard, or one-half point an ounce 
for any excess over standard in bantams. 
In all varieties of turkeys, geese, and ducks 
having weight clauses, three points per 
pound are deducted for any deficit from 
standard. 

This short summary will prove the impor- 
tance of weight. First the frame of the bird 
must be the right size, so that sound, firm 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

flesh will cause it to tip the scales at the right 
mark. Overfattened birds lose shape and 
condition. Many birds of good size, shape, 
and build fail to receive awards because of 
condition and plumage, more the result of feed 
and care than breeding. I have seen a bird 
take first prize in one show, and at another, 
later in the season, when out of condi- 
tion, be passed over entirely. 

From time of selection, feed good sound 
food three times a day — just the amount 
they will eat clean in ten minutes. Never 
throw down unlimited supplies, or they will 
get overfat and lazy. A quarter of the 
whole grain each day should be hemp or 
sunflower seed, to make the feathers bright 
and glossy. A good mash feed for the last 
few weeks is rice or wheat boiled in milk. 
If your birds are white or light colored, 
shade them from the full rays of the sun, 
for it has a tendency to tan white feathers and 
impoverish the quality of the buff plumage. 

The day before shipping light-colored fowls 
272 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

of any sort should be washed. Don't gasp. 
It's not by any means a difficult under- 
taking, but must be done thoroughly, or 
the result is anything but pleasing to behold. 
An ordinary wash-boiler makes a good bath 
because of the oblong shape. Put enough 
warm water into it to cover the bird. Make 
a lather of good white soap. Stand the 
fowl in the water and soak for a few min- 
utes. With a moderately soft brush scrub 
down and across the feathers, but never 
upwards. Go at it with a will — don't be 
afraid; and work as quickly as you can. 
When every spot is removed, hold up the 
bird and have some one empty and refill 
the bath with clean water; rinse, repeat- 
ing the scrubbing downwards to remove the 
soap. Repeat this process with a third and 
fourth water. On the rinsing depends the 
success of this washing. When every 
vestige of soap has disappeared, stand the 
bird on a tray and dry with a soft towel. 
Next, brush downwards with a fairly stiff, 

273 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

dry brush; then place in a drying cage. 
This is easily made of wire netting sides and 
top, with a wooden floor, a perch across the 
centre for the bird to roost on, high enough 
to prevent its tail touching the floor. Cover 
the floor with three inches of sawdust, so 
that all droppings will immediately be ab- 
sorbed. The cage should be placed in a 
warm corner out of all draught, and in a sur- 
prisingly short time the feathers will begin to 
web and fluff out. 

Let me warn you — if the water is too 
warm, the fowl may faint. Do not be 
alarmed. No permanent harm will result. 
It will revive immediately if the head is well 
doused with cold water. Get all the dirt off 
the legs and feet; next morning rub just a 
touch of vaseline over the extremities to 
soften and brighten them. 

The shipping coops should be large enough 
for the birds to stand upright in. As most 
shows are held in cold weather, cover the 
open parts with strong, unbleached muslin. 

^74 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Personally, I think the exhibitors should 
accompany the birds, or send a trusty at- 
tendant to all shows. Such a course as- 
sures better care on the journey, and enables 
you to care for their health during the trying 
time of close confinement which competing 
for honors condemns the birds to. Your 
presence often procures better bench accom- 
modations, insures coops which are free 
from dust, clean drinking cups, and all the 
small details which help a good appearance. 

CAPONS 

Capons have never been half as much used 
in this country as in Europe. Now, -how- 
ever, they are growing in popularity and 
must not be ignored. I tried it on my farm, 
but gave it up, for the operation suggested 
the dissecting room far too closely to be 
endured by me. 

We were visited about five years ago by 
an English poultry expert, who insisted that 

275 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

no poultry farm, properly so called, was 
complete without capons and the means to 
fatten the birds artificially. His arguments 
were so convincing, that $50 were de- 
spatched to England for a machine to do 
the stuffing. Caponizing instruments were 
bought, and my first lesson was taken on a 
dead cockerel. That seemed only a little 
worse than drawing a bird for table use. 
My English friend assured me that I would 
think nothing of dissecting a live bird when 
used to it. The next day he picked out six 
cockerels, each about three months old, and 
had them brought over to the feed house. 
The day before a small table had been sent 
over and prepared for the proceeding; one 
must be able to move the birds wherever 
the light is at its best. 

The fowl surgeon took one of the two pieces 
of cord, which had been expressly prepared 
with a slip-knot at one end and a weight at 
the other. Slipping the loop twice over the 
bird's feet, he placed it on its left side on the 

276 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

table, with the weight hanging over the end; 
then pulling the wings up and outward, the 
loop of number two piece of string was 
slipped over them, weighted, and the weights 
allowed to hang down. The next move was 
to wet the side of the bird exposed with 
cold water, to prevent bleeding and make 
the feathers lie flat when pushed back. 
All this was comfortably interesting, but 
when he reached for the knife, there was a 
feeling of very distinct uncomfortableness. 
The businesslike voice of my instructor 
explained that the skin must be pulled 
down with the left hand, and the knife in- 
serted between the first and second ribs. 
He made the incision quickly, about a quarter 
of an inch. The poor bird squirmed, neces- 
sitating a momentary pause. This always 
occurs, the bird working its ribs up and 
down; however, it soon resumed tranquillity 
when the cut was lengthened an inch. 

About this time I became strongly im- 
pressed with the fact that I had ribs of my 

277 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

own, every one of which seemed highly sen- 
sitive. My head felt odd, too. A peculiar 
tightness across my forehead seemed to be 
dragging my temples toward each other. 
Mr. Expert put down the knife. My con- 
dition began to improve, but went all to 
pieces again when an instrument called the 
" spreader " was inserted. Detail upon detail 
was explained, with cautions to avoid cut- 
ting the backbone or an artery. My in- 
ternal feelings became horribly appalling; 
stars of various sizes danced all sorts of 
jigs in front of my eyes. My flesh got all 
goosey, and if our dear old cow had not, at 
this moment, created a blessed interruption 
by breaking out of the pasture, I should 
have disgraced myself forever by flopping 
over right in front of Mr. Expert. Very 
urgent business was promptly arranged that 
prevented my returning to the feed house, and 
it afterward happened that things so turned 
out that it was absolutely impossible for me 
to make an opportunity for another lesson. 

278 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

This experiment warrants my counselling 
any woman who has not qualified as a trained 
surgical nurse not to try caponizing. If 
you are near a big city where there is a 
large market and special demand for them, 
a little tactful questioning of the people who 
buy these specialties will enable you to find 
some man who understands the work and 
can be hired to visit your place for a small 
fee and save you from attempting what must 
be uncongenial, to say the least of it, to any 
woman. 

The six cockerels which were operated on 
enabled me to test the value of caponiz- 
ing from personal observation; and I am 
convinced that where there is a market for 
the best, there is money in capons. 

Late-hatched chickens operated on in Oc- 
tober will make splendid table birds the 
following April, and during the interim can 
take the place of brooders for incubator 
chicks; for one of the advantages of capon- 
izing cockerels is the gentle, placid nature 

279 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

they develop. Put a capon on a nest at 
night, and tuck as many as eighteen chicks 
just out of the incubator under him, and 
he will wake up next morning with every 
quality of an ideal mother, scratching for 
and feeding his babies in the most approved 
way; and further, he will never dream of 
deserting his family — they have to be taken 
away from him. 

In this way he more than pays for his 
food while growing, which he does rapidly, 
reaching ten or twelve pounds in weight; 
and as the frame retains the normal size, 
the addition is all meat of delicious flavor, as 
tender as a squab broiler, bringing from 20 
to 25 cents a pound. 

My six capons raised two hundred and 
eleven chicks from January to April, and 
then sold for $1.80 each as roasters. 

The advisability of adding this branch of 
the business to the farm must entirely de- 
pend on the possibility of getting the work 
done and the certainty of a market demand. 

280 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

WATER-CRESS 

Water-cress is easily forced for winter 
use or market, and if you have private cus- 
tomers for eggs, you can sell the winter- 
cress, too, at 10 or 12 cents a bunch. 
The spring brook which supplied us with 
cress during the spring and summer ran 
under a low log bridge. Chancing down 
the wagon road late one January, we were 
astonished to see fresh green sprigs of cress 
flourishing under its meagre protection. The 
hint suggested trying to protect enough of the 
stream to provide our table the next winter. 

In October brush was piled some two 
feet high on each side of the stream, for a 
distance of five or six feet. Late in No- 
vember a sort of hurdle of thin cedar poles 
was made, and extra branches securely tied 
on to prevent the wind from dislodging 
them. When completed, the hurdle was 
placed over the stream, each end resting on 
a brush pile. Though primitive, this ar- 

281 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

rangement proved beyond doubt that forc- 
ing water-cress is practical. 

The stream was inconveniently located; 
so, having an unfailing spring at the back of 
the orchard, we determined to make new 
cress beds. The first step was to have the 
spring dug out and walled up three feet. 
On each side a trap, or small sluice, was in- 
serted, and from the outer side of the wall 
ditches three feet wide and deep were dug; 
the bottom was covered with four inches of 
sand, and the beds were ready for planting. 

The sluices were opened to saturate the 
bottom of the ditch. Then all but the 
merest trickle of water was shut off, until 
the roots, which were brought from the old 
stream, had gained a firm growth in the 
sand. Then a steady supply was let in — 
sufficient in quantity to keep about half a 
foot of water constantly running through 
the ditch. November 1 the full length of 
the excavation was covered with hot-bed 
sashes, which kept our cress productive all 

282 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

through the winter, and brought so much 
"grist to the mill" that the ditches, which 
were originally only ten feet long, were sub- 
sequently extended to over a hundred. 

When it is impossible to get roots for trans- 
planting, as we did, I have been told by a 
reliable person that seeds sown in shallow 
pans filled with sand and kept moist will 
quickly produce plants which can be trans- 
planted successfully. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN 

Seeds of lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower 
should be sown in the open ground now to 
transplant to the cold-frame later, which in- 
sures hardy, well-developed plants to set out 
next spring. 

Strawberries can be planted during the 
whole month and will be established before 
frost. Commence to draw earth round the 
celery roots with a hoe, and prepare it for 
next month's "hilling up." Spinach and 

^83 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Scotch curly greens should be sown now for 
early spring use. 

The onion tops, if still green, should be 
bent over to the ground. It is quickly ac- 
complished by walking along the rows and 
striking down the tops with the back of a 
hoe. The turning over stops growth and 
hastens ripening. When the tops are yellow 
and dried-looking, dig up the bulbs on a 
dry day and leave them in the full sun for 
two days; then store in shallow boxes, or on 
shelves in a dry, cool outhouse, until frost; 
when they must be covered with a heavy 
layer of straw or moved to a warm cellar. 

Two or three frames will be found very 
useful for drying fruit and vegetables. Ours 
are six feet long, three feet wide, covered 
with one-inch wire netting; and we stand 
them between two trestles when in use. 

If you slip paper grocery bags over the 
bunches of grapes, tying the top of the bag 
together with a piece of string round the 
stalk, the flavor will be much improved 

284 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

and the birds cannot steal the fruit as it 
ripens. 

Weeds should be vigorously attacked this 
month to prevent their seeding and infest- 
ing the ground for next year. Brush which 
is encroaching round fences and in odd 
corners can be destroyed now more easily 
than at any other time of the year, because 
the sap and strength is nearly all in the top 
growth at this season; therefore cutting 
down to the earth's surface robs the roots of 
winter nourishment, and they invariably die 
of inanition. 

FLOWER GARDEN 

Prepare or plant a border or bed of bulbs. 
They will herald spring next year in your 
flower garden almost before the snow melts. 
Finding the first snowdrop or crocus is such 
a real joy that it seems wrong not to spend 
the little time and cash necessary to start 
them. Once established, they will come up 
year after year. If the earth is heavy, mix 

285 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

sand and leaf mould with it. Dig deep, and 
plant snowdrops and crocuses two inches 
deep; hyacinths, narcissi, and tulips, four 
inches deep. 

A window box or pots can be started now 
for Christmas blossoming. Fill with rich, 
sandy loam ; press the hyacinths and kindred 
bulbs about half their depth into the earth, 
snowdrops and crocuses to just beneath 
the surface. Keep the boxes or pots in a 
dark cellar where the temperature will not 
rise above fifty degrees, and in seven or eight 
weeks they will have developed strong roots; 
then they can be brought into a warm room, 
well watered, and placed in a light window, 
where they will soon commence to make top 
growth. 

Slips taken from geraniums, fuchsias, be- 
gonias, and roses now will make good plants 
for bedding out next summer. A shal- 
low dish filled with sandy mould, or 
individual pots, can be used for starting 
them. Until well established, the earth 

286 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

must be kept perpetually moist, or the 
delicate roots will die out and the slips per- 
ish. Rose slips should be cut from 
branches grown last year. Geraniums and 
such plants, on the contrary, are better 
taken from recent growth, where the slip 
can be easily snapped off by bending. 



287 



CHAPTER XIII 

SEPTEMBER 

SCRATCHING materials and green 
food for the fowls and chickens should 
now be thought of, or else they will go short 
in the winter and the egg crop will di- 
niinish. Dandelion, plantain, chickweed, and 
all such green things, gathered and packed 
into barrels with a board fitted tightly to the 
inside on which a heavy weight is placed, 
will remain in a fresh, succulent condition far 
into the cold season. This will save expense, 
materially increase the egg yield, and insure 
fertility. Ferns and weeds, cut now and 
dried, will enable you to be generous with 
litter during the cold months. 

September should find all the pullets 
"singing." Keep them busy, get them to 
laying steadily before the really cold weather 
comes. Are the old houses all in order .^^ 

288 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Make a thorough examination of all roofs. 
Don't let a sappy-looking place in the cov- 
ering of the coop pass. Lay a strip of fresh 
roofing paper over it and nail down securely. 
See that all windows and doors will close 
easily and perfectly, leaving no cracks to 
make draughts. 

Guinea fowls should be called up and 
fed near the house or shed you want them 
to roost in. Remember, a little trouble now 
will prevent loss during the winter, and will 
save time in spring hunting nests and eggs. 

Cockerels, to introduce new blood for the 
breeding pens, can be bought cheaper now 
than in the spring. If you are going in for 
winter broilers, pens should be made up 
now and incubators started. Even if you 
are only going to get the high prices that 
genuinely early spring chickens fetch, incu- 
bators should not be delayed beyond January. 
Orders for incubators and brooders must be 
sent in now, or you may have to wait weeks 
for machines — there is always such a de- 
u 289 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

mand for them from October to March. 
White Wyandottes and Plymouth Rocks are 
the best broilers. Seven hens of these breeds 
are sufficient to run with a cockerel. More 
only cause waste of eggs and time. Infer- 
tile eggs or weak germs, which have to be 
removed when you discover them on testing 
the eggs on the seventh or fifteenth day, 
will cause you to run the incubator for per- 
haps only half its capacity. 

PIGEONS NEED ATTENTION NOW 

If you started pigeons for fancy stock or 
squabs last spring, and kept the first lots of 
young ones for stock, they should now be 
mated and put into the house they are to 
remain in. Young birds are occasionally 
neglectful about building nests in time, so 
look for dropped eggs; locate the careless 
pair, and unless they select a box and build 
for the second laying, take them out of the 
house and turn them into pigeon pie. 

290 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

If you haven't tried squab raising for mar- 
ket, this is the best time to start; because, 
like all poultry, the supply is more plentiful 
and the stock better now than later. 

On the other hand, if you have been rais- 
ing fancy birds and want to exhibit at the 
coming poultry shows, now is the time to 
select the most promising. Put them into 
a small coop or cage, and begin the training 
necessary to prevent their being frightened 
when shipped. All the old birds should be 
recovering from moulting, so you can judge 
the plumage pretty accurately. A little hemp 
seed will add lustre to the plumage, but don't 
be too generous with it, or there will be danger 
of fat. Remember that they need grit and salt 
as much, or even more, when cooped than 
when in the pigeon house. 



FALL CHICKENS 

For several seasons we have made a spe- 
cialty of raising fall chickens for winter kill- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ing, and find it very profitable. Of course 
it necessitates making up a yard of breeding 
birds about the middle of August, but some 
of the older hens can be used before they 
are sold off. One or two incubators are 
filled the first week in September, which 
brings out the chicks when the weather is 
still bright but cool, and gives them fully 
six weeks of free range, which insures growth 
and health at a minimum cost; for there are 
more insects now than in the spring, weed 
and grass seeds galore. 

Another advantage of fall rearing is the 
absence of spring showers and heavy dews. 
Of course they must have good housing, for 
the October nights are chilly; but houses 
should be in order by October. Young, 
plump roasters will bring from 20 to 25 
cents a pound during the holidays. 

The business end of the farm needs caring 
for now. Try to make arrangements with 
some private persons to take regular quan- 
tities of eggs, roasters, squabs, during the 

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Twelve-dozen Egg Box 



I 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

fall and winter. If you can approximate 
your customers' wants now, you can arrange 
your stock, and buy grain, etc., at harvest 
time, at a lower price than will be possible 
later. 

If you are living in a "way-out farm," 
where personal touch with customers is im- 
possible, put an advertisement into the Sun- 
day paper of your nearest town, stating that 

you can supply fresh eggs at (naming the 

price) to a few customers who will pay ex- 
press charges, amounting to only 25 cents 
for twelve dozen. 

If you are going to have guineas, turkeys, 
ducks, or geese, say so plainly and simply. 
When people write for more information, 
reply at once and write distinctly. 

Another good plan I know three or four 
women to have followed is to write to the 
Women's Exchange, asking it to take orders; 
also to permit you to send to its office twelve, 
twenty-four, or thirty-six dozen eggs at once, 
— it will cost no more than a single dozen, — 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

then customers can fetch their smaller orders. 

No matter how the custom is obtained, 
the utmost care must be taken to fulfil punctu- 
ally all agreements. For instance, arrange 
on what day shipments are to be made, and, 
rain or shine, never fail to despatch them. 
Never keep eggs over and then mix with per- 
fectly fresh ones. One stale egg will destroy 
faith in your goods. If you should find a 
nest that has been hidden away, destroy the 
eggs rather than let one destroy your repu- 
tation for honesty. 

If the weather is rainy and mud is about, 
and eggs get smeared in the nest, wipe them 
with a damp cloth before packing. Also 
try to maintain a uniformity of size. Use up 
small ones on your own table, or get a home 
market for them at a lower price. 

A hint about packing : If you are going to 
ship to private persons, send to a poultry-sup- 
ply store for egg boxes to hold six or twelve 
dozen each. They are strong, neat cases, 
furnished with two or four carrying trays, 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

which are quite safe and will last for years, 
and are well worth the price — $1.50 each. 
Have your name and address painted on 
the box, and above it the words, "When 
empty return to." All express companies 
return shipping boxes and crates free of 
charge. The customer's name and address 
can be written on a tag, or on a card tacked 
to the lid. Inside the lid place a written 
request to empty and return to expressman 
on receipt of next box. As empty "returns" 
are apt to be delayed, you should have three 
boxes for each customer. 

In sending thirty-six dozen at a time to 
one person to distribute, ordinary egg crates 
will do; but address in the same manner, to 
prevent mistakes and loss. 

The following is an item clipped from a 
farm paper, and sent me six or seven years 
ago: — 

"He who puts the finest product on the 
market reaps the richest harvest. 

" Eggs are refined wheat, corn, grass, and 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

contain, besides, much that on the farm 
would otherwise go to waste. In winter a 
basket of fifty dozen will bring more money 
than a load of hay it took a large patch of 
land to grow, a team to cut, a horse and man 
to rake, two men to stack, and a team, wagon, 
and man to market. Sell fresh eggs or 
none at all. Get just as far as possible from 
the lot dumped on the corner grocery. Seek 
for regular customers and get retail prices. 
Stop crying about low rates and cheap goods 
by rising above them. Herein is the gospel 
of successful poultry raising." 

The above is so true that every poultry 
farmer should take it for a text. 



NEW CHICKEN-HOUSES 

September should find the farm so over- 
run with half-grown poultry that new houses 
will be a necessity. It would be foolish to 
spend money in poor, inconvenient make- 
shifts, when one or two sections of a well- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

constructed building can be erected for 
almost the same price, and easily added to, 
as increase of stock or business warrant 
the outlay. Another consideration is time. 
The old house, patched up for use last year, 
was all very well for sheltering a few hens 
you had plenty of time to attend to; but 
work for the coming winter makes it impera- 
tive that buildings should be arranged with 
due consideration for saving of time in the 
distribution of food and water, gathering of 
eggs, etc. 

The plan with this article, which has a 
hallway from which all such work can be 
done, especially appeals to me as a most 
appropriate house for a flock of hens destined 
to become egg machines. The description 
of the building has been supplied by the 
architect, a thoroughly experienced poultry- 
man who has tested the working practica- 
bility of the house by years of personal use, 
as follows : — 

Where market eggs are the chief object, I 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

prefer this house to any other. The inte- 
rior arrangements are such that the feeding, 
watering, and gathering of eggs can be done 
from the passageway. The house is also 
built on the open scratching-shed plan, with 
separate enclosed roosting rooms. 

For cold climates glass windows are used 
where protection is needed in the houses, 
made to slide on the sill by means of small 
rollers at the bottom of the sash. One half 
of the window may be stationary, the other 
half to slide. Wire netting may be fastened 
to the windows on the inside, which will 
allow the windows to be open in warm weather 
when the fowls love to roll and scratch in 
the sun. This will keep them active and in 
good health. Too much cannot be said 
about windows in planning for the scratch- 
ing shed. The roof may be either shingles 
or tar paper. I prefer the former. The 
front elevation is six feet from sill to top of 
plate. The north side is also six feet, and ten 
feet six inches to hip of roof. Two roosting 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

rooms and two scratching sheds can come 
together, as shown in Fig. 2. The hallway 
is four feet. A track may be laid and a 
small car used, which will be found very 
convenient in a long house in carrying 
water and feed; also in cleaning roosts, 
carrying litter, etc., for the scratching sheds. 

In Fig. 1 is shown the arrangement of 
nests with four to a section, and a small 
drop door opening into the hallway, through 
which to gather the eggs. The nests are 
two feet from the floor, and in size are fif- 
teen inches deep and one foot high. Muslin, 
or wire netting, may be used above as de- 
sired. The slats through which the fowls 
feed are two and one-half inches apart, two 
inches wide, and the edges rounded so as 
not to tear the feathers of the fowls while 
feeding. The feed troughs may be the full 
length of each apartment and are easily 
removed and cleaned. 

The drinking dish illustrated in Fig. 1 is 
simply a two-quart, or larger, pan, set in a 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

recess with slats all around it to protect it 
from flying scratching materials. It plainly 
shows how it is made and how it fits into the 
partition between the walk and the pen, the 
pan extending into the pen. The top and 
bottom boards are cut the exact size of the 
top edge of the pan, half round, and extend 
back square, to and through the partition, 
so the pans can be drawn out into the walk 
to be rinsed and refilled. 

The roosting rooms are eight by twelve 
feet, with windows in front as shown in 
Fig. 1. The roosting platform is two feet 
from the floor and runs the full length of the 
room. Three perches are used, rounded on 
top, made of two by threes, and six inches 
above the platform. Thirty or forty fowls 
can be accommodated in each room. The 
partitions between the roosting rooms and 
the scratching sheds are boarded up tight, 
and between the scratching sheds are three 
boards high, the balance of the partitions 
being wire netting. A space of two inches 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

is left between the boards of the ceiling over 
the roosting rooms, over and on top of which 
is laid plenty of straw and hay. The mois- 
ture from the fowls passes up through the 
openings, and is absorbed by the straw, 
etc.; and by leaving the doors on each end 
of the passageway open for a short time dur- 
ing the day in winter, all moisture is carried 
out, leaving your building perfectly dry and 
free from dampness. 

THE PIG 

However small the farm, a pig seems 
a necessary and undoubtedly a profitable 
adjunct. During our first summer, waste 
vegetables and fruits had made us realize 
the necessity for adding a pig to the live- 
stock; but we had decided to wait until the 
following spring before acquiring an animal 
which we all had a certain dread of caring 
for. But, as usual, destiny shaped our in- 
tent her own way by sending an attractive 
young sow our way early in September. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

She was medium-sized, all white, and 
looked peaceful; so, knowing that we had 
plenty of fodder, we bought her. In Febru- 
ary of the following year she had nine little 
ones, four pairs of which were sold six weeks 
later for $6 a pair. The odd one was kept 
until eight months old, and killed for home 
consumption, weighing two hundred and 
three pounds. Home-cured ham and bacon 
are luxuries not to be bought at the best 
market. 

Pigs are by no means the dirty, uninter- 
esting animals they are generally supposed 
to be. Of course, I am referring to the 
family pig. Extensive hog raising I know 
nothing about. Like all other creatures, en- 
vironment has much influence on behavior. 
A well-housed, well-fed pig will be self- 
respecting and well behaved. 

Peggy had a house equipped with mod- 
ern improvements, and from being a dirty, 
wallowing food consumer, she gradually 

acquired a well-groomed appearance and a 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

good-tempered affection for us all. The pen 
was built on the English plan : A sleeping 
compartment six feet square, five feet high 
in front and three feet at the back; the 
outer compartment of corresponding size, with 
walls three feet high, floor slanting slightly 
to a drain at the front, and a trough at each 




PIG-PEN 



FLOOR 6 INCHES 

ABOVE OTHER 

COMPARTMENT 



side. The walls, floor, and trough were all 
made of cement, like the cow stable, which, 
by daily changing the bedding and weekly 
sluicing out, insured Peggy's being as clean 
and sweet to visit as Rachel. 

If feeding affects the flavor and quality 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

of poultry and eggs, why not of pork? On 
this Kne of reasoning our pigs are fed. No hor- 
rible, half-mouldy swill barrel stands around. 
Waste matter, such as vegetable peelings, 
small potatoes, apples, and other unmarket- 
able products, corn stalks, or hay cut into 
inch lengths, and a small quantity of salt 
are all boiled in a feed stove until quite ten- 
der. Then shorts, middlings, crushed oats, 
or bran are stirred into it and left to steam 
and become cold. Skim-milk and butter- 
milk, when there is any to spare, also go 
to the pig; but no fat or flesh meat of any 
description. 

Mature stock have a pailful of such feed 
night and morning, with a milk or milk-and- 
water drink, and some chopped fodder at 
noon. Water stands before them all the 
time in one of the cement troughs, into which, 
twice a week, a pailful of coal or wood ashes 
is put, which affords the pig much pleasure 
as well as aiding digestion. Once a week 
half an ounce of sulphur and a pint of char- 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

coal are added to the feed, and a bag of oak 
leaves are thrown into the yard at least as 
often. 

In the wall at the side of the outer com- 
partment a trap only large enough for a 
baby pig to get through opens, and behind 
it a yard three feet square in which a small 
trough stands. When the babies are two 
weeks old, the trap is opened and the trough 
filled three times a day with a mixture of 
skim-milk and crushed oat gruel. The lat- 
ter is made by boiling one quart of crushed 
oats in four quarts of water for half an hour, 
and then straining. Of course fattening pigs 
should have all they can eat at a time, and 
be fed four times a day. 

An expert has described the appearance of 
a good sow as follows: Wide between the 
eyes, neck moderately thin, shoulders deep, 
back wide and straight, deep chest, and well- 
sprung ribs. Our pigs have all been of the 
Essex breed, simply because such a boar 
was kept on an adjacent farm. Peggy was 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

supposed to be a Chester White, so I suppose, 
to be accurate, I should have said her de- 
scendants are Essex-Chesters. 



ORCHARD 

Apples should all be picked during the 
beginning of the month. Keeping for win- 
ter in a small way for the home can be sat- 
isfactorily done if only some fruit is used 
gathered by hand from the tree. Get sugar 
or flour barrels (sugar are the best), put 
a layer of hay at the bottom, pack the apples 
one by one, stems down, in even layers as 
tightly as can be done without bruising. Hay 
or paper placed between the layers will aid 
their preservation. When the barrel is full, 
replace the end and stand in a cool outhouse 
on its side, until really cold weather. Then 
either cover with bedding or remove to a cellar 
or a store pit. 

If cider is to be made of the windfalls, 
buy an empty sherry or whiskey cask if you 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

would have sweet tasting cider; for it is a 
mistake to use the same keg season after 
season, unless you wish the cider to stand 
and turn to vinegar. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN 

Have a hotbed made before the ground 
freezes, even if you don't intend using it 
before March. Select a sheltered position 
near the house, preferably on land that slopes 
if that is possible. Have a pit dug six feet 
long, three feet wide, and three feet deep. 
Board up all round, allowing the wood to 
project eighteen inches above the earth's 
surface at the top, and about eight inches at 
the bottom, the sides sloping down from the 
top to join the bottom, so making a slope that 
will catch all the sun and shed water. Regu- 
lar hotbed sashes fit these dimensions and 
cost $3 ; but a home-made sash of oiled 
muslin and shingle slats, like those used 
for water-cress, will answer almost as well. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Bank the earth up all round even with 
the edge of the projecting boards, and if 
not to be used until March, fill with coarse 
stable manure to keep out frost. 

As a cold frame, put into the bottom of 
the pit a layer of small stones some two inches 
deep; then fill to within fourteen inches of 
the top with rich sandy soil. Transplant 
young lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower from 
the ground at the end of the month; but 
don't use the sash until next month — then 
only at nights or on frosty days. After se- 
vere cold sets in, keep covered; ventilate 
only when you are sure it is discreet to do so. 
Cover the sash with straw mats during the zero 
weather. The object is only to keep plants 
uninjured until weather permits their being 
again planted in the ground. For that reason, 
no artificial heat is provided in the cold frame. 

Filling for the hotbed, whether to be used 
for the development of winter salad or seed- 
ing next spring, is, of course, the same. Put 
in a layer of stone as before; then prepare 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

a compost as follows : Equal quantities of 
rotted leaves from the woods and fresh 
horse droppings; mix thoroughly, and in 
severe weather pack into a conical heap in 
a shed. During early fall the heap can be 
made and kept outside. After heat com- 
mences to rise, fork the heap very thoroughly 
and reshape. This should be done twice, to 
allow the rank steam to escape. 

After the sweetening process, place in the 
frame to the depth of two feet, packing down 
firmly. Insert a thermometer and put on the 
sash. Examine within two days. The heat 
should have commenced to rise and will 
run up to, or over, a hundred. Wait until 
it subsides to eighty or ninety degrees; then 
cover the manure with six inches of rich, 
sandy soil. Then the bed is ready for use. 
The sash must be covered at night by straw 
mats or some adequate protecting material. 
Ventilate every day, if the sun is shining, 
for a few minutes — time to be regulated by 
the outer atmosphere. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Many hotbeds are made entirely above 
the surface, but the pit retains the heat 
much better, making the filling last longer 
than in a surface bed. A cold frame is use- 
ful and easy to manage, but the hotbed in 
midwinter is a difficult undertaking for 
the amateur. So be advised ! Make your 
first experiment in spring, when climatic con- 
ditions will improve each day, so mitigating 
the danger that might arise from a lapse of 
memory about covering, overheating, or like 
important points. 

Onion sets planted out the end of the 
month, and covered about the end of Octo- 
ber with straw or leaves, will supply green 
onions for the table two or three weeks earlier 
in the spring than it is possible to get others. 

Kale sown now will grow rapidly and 
stand out all through the winter, a slight, 
nay, rather heavy, frost only improving it. 
During January and February it is well to 
throw bedding of some sort each side of the 
rows, and a light covering over the top — to 

31i 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

be removed in March, when the kale will 
start a fresh growth, producing succulent 
greens at a season when most desired. 

Clean up weeds and brush. Keep the un- 
planted ground cultivated as long as frost 
will permit. You will reap the benefit next 
year. 

FLOWER GARDEN 

By the end of the month most of the ten- 
der plants should be taken in, for a severe 
frost may visit you without warning. Large 
old geraniums can stand quite cold weather, 
but don't be too venturesome. Such plants 
can be taken up and hung by the roots in a 
cellar, where they will remain in a dormant 
condition until planted next year. Plants 
that were not taken from the pots last May 
or June when put into the ground should 
now be repotted in one size larger recep- 
tacles. A spoonful of bone meal dug into 
the roots of potted plants two or three times 
during the winter will insure plenty of blos- 
soms to cheer the home. 

312 



CHAPTER XIV 

POULTRY AILMENTS 
ROUP 

Tr>OUP is a disease that gives worry to 
^^ the poultry men and women. Like 
cholera, it is contagious, runs a rapid course, 
and even if some birds are brought back to 
apparent health, they are not safe to breed 
from, as their progeny are sure to have a 
predilection for colds, sore eyes, or swollen 
heads, which sooner or later break out and 
cause endless trouble. Many people scoff 
at the idea of roup being transmitted to fu- 
ture generations. I did myself at one time, 
and bought two sittings of eggs from two dif- 
ferent farmers whose fowls had suffered an 
attack of roup the preceding winter, and 
proved myself — all wrong! 

Of the first sitting twelve hatched, — rather 
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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

weakly, pinched-looking little fellows. One 
died when two weeks old; nothing the mat- 
ter — just a want of energy. Another followed 
the third week in the same way. Four had 
colds in eyes and heads when six weeks 
old, and though doctored and fussed with, 
quietly died one after the other. Of the six 
remaining two were cockerels, so they were 
killed. The four pullets matured slowly, 
and proved poor layers, easily affected by any 
change of atmosphere; so at the end of the 
tenth month they were killed, cooked, and 
fed to the kennels. The second year was 
just as disastrously convincing. Thus the 
experiment convinced me beyond doubt that 
roup at least transmits weakness, and should 
therefore be guarded against as a double 
danger. 

Being transferable, roup can be brought 
into your poultry by a strange bird. It is 
therefore wise to segregate all new birds 
when first purchased. The most frequent 
cause of outbreaks is, however, right on your 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

own farm. A neglected cold which develops 
into roup is passed along, becomes conta- 
gious, and spreads like wildfire through the 
flock. 

Watch your birds closely, especially at 
morning feed, now when the nights are 
cold; and should one look dumpy or sneeze, 
pick it up and remove it to a sunny, dry coop. 
The symptoms of a common cold, catarrh, 
and roup are identical at first — watery eyes, 
bubbling in the nostrils, sometimes diarrhoea. 
The discharge is at first thin and scanty, then 
abundant, and finally thick and drying on the 
surface. If it is roup, the odor is most dis- 
agreeable. The victim at once begins to lose 
strength. Should the head begin to swell, it 
is an extra proof of the severity of the attack 
— frequently incurable. If you examine the 
sick bird's throat, you will find it inflamed, 
with small irregular patches of gray or yellow 
at the back. They increase rapidly and run 
together, forming a tough membrane, almost 

closing the throat. If you try to move it, 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

blood oozes. If there are no spots or bad 
odor and the membrane comes away easily, 
the bird has only catarrh — bad enough, but 
not contagious. 

Bronchitis, canker, pneumonia, and influ- 
enza are also nearly alike in symptoms, and 
are easily mistaken for roup. As they are 
still all kindred diseases, springing from cold, 
my advice is: Don't wait to diagnose the 
case, but at once use means to kill the em- 
bryo germs without losing time to determine 
the particular family they belong to. 

Having removed and quarantined the sus- 
pected bird, start treatment, if there is any 
discharge anywhere, by thoroughly scrub- 
bing with some antiseptic solution night 
and morning. Dr. Woods recommends hy- 
drogen dioxide and fifteen drops of tincture 
of Phytolacca root in each pint of drinking 
water, with light, nourishing food. He also 
gives as a good remedy for all forms of cold: 
tincture of aconite, ten drops; bryonia, ten 
drops; tincture spongia, ten drops; alcohol, 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

enough to make one fluid ounce. Mix this, 
one spoonful to be added to every quart of 
drinking water. 

My entire drug supply for family, animals, 
and poultry consists of permanganate of potas- 
sium, which comes in little flaky, deep-lake 
colored crystals. Dissolve a thimbleful of 
them in a quart of water, and you have a 
splendid disinfectant. A dessert-spoonful of 
that mixture, diluted again by half a pint 
of water, becomes an antiseptic solution that 
meets every requirement for internal or ex- 
ternal use on man or beast. Fifty cents' 
worth will last a year, even generously used 
as a purifier in and out of the house. It has 
also the added advantage of being easily sent 
through the mail without fear of breakage. 
If kept in a tin with a closely fitting lid, or a 
wide-mouthed bottle severely corked, it will 
last indefinitely. 

Crude carbolic acid comes next. Castor 
oil, camphor, borax, and turpentine complete 
the list, but they are seldom used. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

When we have a bird with a cold, it goes 
into a coop with plenty of straw on the bot- 
tom, which stands where it gets all the sun. 
At night a curtain made of bags is hung in 
front for extra warmth. Mouth, eyes, and 
nostrils are swabbed with warm water to 
which the permanganate of potassium mix- 
ture has been added; half a teaspoonful 
is poured down the invalid's throat. Food 
consists of stale bread, moistened with milk 
in which onions have been boiled. If the 
diarrhoea is bad, half a thimbleful of poppy 
seed is added; or water in which mullein 
seed has been boiled is given as a drink. 

A change of food is made by boiling rice 
and mixing it with chopped parsley and 
green sprouts of onions, chopped fine; and 
powdered charcoal is mixed in once a day. 
When we have any of the milky puddings 
for dinner, some of it goes to the patient. 
In fact, any sort of nourishing food you 
would give a child is appropriate. This 
"homey" doctoring has always answered 

318 



i 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

with my poultry, and is much better than 
dosing with drugs, which are not always on 
hand when wanted on a farm. 

But prevention is always better than cure. 
Use common sense combined with humane 
thoughtfulness towards your stock. When 
you notice that the night has changed 
suddenly, or that the morning is raw and 
damp, causing you and the family to spe- 
cially enjoy the hot cup of coffee, just add a 
dessert-spoonful of kerosene to each quart 
of drinking water for all the birds. Give a 
little less mash for breakfast. Half an hour 
after empty a bed of leaves into each house, 
and a couple of handfuls of millet seed, 
thus insuring an extra amount of exercise. 
Work that circulates the blood is the best 
way of warding off a cold. If you haven't 
any millet, brush up the barn and throw 
the sweepings into the houses if it is rain- 
ing; into the yards if it is dry. Dry cold 
does not hurt fowls, but there is danger in 
damp or draught. 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

GAPES 

Gapes causes so much mortality among 
young chickens that you should be pre- 
pared to fight the pest as soon as symptoms 
of its presence are observed. Gapes is not 
a disease, as many people imagine, but a 
parasite worm, which is supposed to exist 
only on ground on which birds have been 
distributing droppings for more than one 
season. Game preserves where quail, pheas- 
ants, or grouse are bred extensively will 
occasionally have epidemics of this scourge 
that will sweep off hundreds of young birds. 
The pest is about five-sixteenths of an inch 
long, and as thick as a fine thread. It seems 
certain from the information gathered about 
it that after entering the windpipe of a chick 
it produces young; for bunches of little ones, 
not more than three-sixteenths of an inch long, 
have been found on making a post-mortem 
examination, but only when a mature worm 
was also present. At least, such is the 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

result of the investigations of one of the 
most reliable poultry experts, who has de- 
voted much time to the study of the subject, 
and who also gives the following directions 
for exterminating the pests : — 

Mix salt and water, or steep tobacco 
in water ten minutes. Pour a teaspoon- 
ful down the bird's throat. Keep the head 
up and the two holes at the base of the 
beak closed with your thumb and fore- 
finger while you count five slowly. Then 
suddenly release and turn the bird's head 
downward, holding it by its feet. It will 
gasp, sputter, and usually eject the worms. 

However, as we have never had a case of 
gapes on our place, I firmly believe that 
chopped garlic or green onion in the feed is 
a sovereign preventive, and more potent than 
all the torturing cures. 

SCALY LEGS 

Some of the old broody hens bought for 
hatching the first year are almost sure to 
^ 321 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

have rough legs. Don't make the mistake 
of thinking that is merely the sign of old age, 
for though scaly legs does not seem to in- 
jure the general health in any way, it looks 
so disagreeable it should not be allowed to 
spread to the younger chickens, which it is 
sure to do unless checked, because it is 
caused by a parasite and is contagious. 
Bathe the afflicted bird's legs and feet in 
moderately strong permanganate of potas- 
sium and warm water. The best plan is 
to fill a two-quart lard pail and hold the 
bird's legs and shanks in it for a few min- 
utes, to soak and soften the scaly substance. 
Then wash thoroughly, using a plain white 
soap and nail brush. Wipe dry, and rub in 
carbolic vaseline. Repeat every three days 
until cured. 

FEATHER PULLING 

is scarcely a disease, yet as it requires a cure, 
it seems as if it should come within the 
doctor's jurisdiction. It is really a bad 

322 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

habit which springs from the natural desire 
for animal food, being denied which cre- 
ates an abnormal desire. A fight or some 
accident causes a few feathers to be torn 
from a bird's body and some one of the flock 
discovers the animal secretion in the quills; 
the habit is acquired to alleviate the crav- 
ing and, like most evils, spreads quickly 
throughout the pen, and it will be only a 
short time before the entire flock will be de- 
moralized. Remedies are very inefficient in 
this case, so be careful to furnish a perpetual 
preventive in the shape of meat scraps or 
green bone. 

The following receipts are from cuttings 
made years ago for my own guidance, so 
unfortunately the original sources are lost in 
the oblivion of time. 



CHOLERA 

In the majority of cases the so-called 
wholesale destruction of flocks from cholera 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

is not cholera at all, but the work of lice. On 
some farms where the hens hide away at night 
here and there, for want of some kind of 
suitable shelter, the trees, wood pile, sheds, 
and under the barns will be swarming with 
lice; and dead hens may be found every 
morning, being literally eaten alive by myr- 
iads of lice, the cause being attributed to 
cholera or some disease, simply because the 
owner cannot comprehend how lice can be 
so destructive. On such farms there may 
also be found an apology for a hen-house, 
the floor of which will be covered for a foot 
or more with droppings, being the accumula- 
tion of years; but which house will be found 
useless, as the hens will prefer exposure to 
all kinds of weather rather than venture in 
the pest hole filled with lice and called a 
poultry house. Some farmers wonder how 
it is that they get no eggs, and they natu- 
rally ascribe their failure to "there being no 
money in chickens"; when the fact is that 
if they were as negligent of their horses, 

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A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

cows, sheep, and hogs as they are of their 
hens, they would go into bankruptcy the 
first year. Before undertaking to cure chol- 
era, examine for lice, as in many instances 
the lice are at the root of all difficulties. 

Genuine cholera is a disease that exists, 
however. It is shown by great thirst, green- 
ish, profuse droppings, and prostration. It 
can be distinguished from indigestion or 
roup, as it kills the bird in from twenty- 
four to forty-eight hours, or else recovery 
ensues. There is no lingering illness con- 
nected with it. The best remedy is car- 
bolic acid. Add twenty drops to a gill of 
water, and with the water mix together meal 
and shorts, slightly parched and browned, 
and force a tablespoonful of such soft food 
down their throats twice a day. Give no 
water to drink at all. If it is given, how- 
ever, add ten drops of the acid to each 
gill of water. Keep the sick birds in a 
dry, warm place, and separate from the 

others. 

325 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

INDIGESTION 

This is frequently mistaken for cholera 
and is caused by overfeeding, especially 
when grain is largely used. The symptoms 
are the same as for cholera, except the in- 
tense thirst and the death of the bird in a few 
hours. The remedy is to give no food what- 
ever for three days, and also add a teaspoon- 
ful of tincture of nux vomica to each quart 
of the drinking water, at the end of three 
days allowing one ounce of lean meat once a 
day for a week. Be sure and provide sharp 
grit. 

CROP BOUND 

Whenever a fowl is crop bound it is due to 
eating something that will not pass into the 
gizzard, such as hay, old rope, rags, dried 
hay or grass, or anything that is liable to be- 
come packed. The opening from the crop 
to the gizzard may be clogged with a small 
piece of hemp or rag, and as no food passes 
to the gizzard, the fowl is all the time hun- 

326 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

gry and eats and eats, only to add more 
to the crop, yet not satisfying hunger. It 
starves with a full crop. As it eats to sat- 
isfy hunger, yet fails to do so, the crop is 
filled to its utmost, every little space being 
packed, and the crop in a few days becomes 
as hard as a wooden ball. On the first symp- 
toms give the bird a tablespoonful of warm 
lard, and work the crop with the hand until 
it becomes soft, as by so doing the passage 
to the gizzard may be cleared and the food 
begin to move out of the crop ; but if this fails, 
which may be known by examining the bird 
four or five hours after manipulating the 
crop, then the crop must be opened. To do 
this, make an incision lengthwise in the up- 
per part of the crop about an inch or an 
inch and a half in length. This should be 
very cleanly made with a sharp lancet or 
penknife. As there is an outer and inner 
skin, draw the outer skin aside when cutting, 
so that it will go in place again and cover 

the inner skin, 

327 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Through this incision the contents of the 
crop may be removed, using for that pur- 
pose a small egg spoon. Sometimes the 
mass is so hard that it cannot pass through 
the aperture, and in that case it must be 
broken up, which can be done with care and 
patience. This mass is usually very of- 
fensive indeed, and to remove any contami- 
nating matter from the crop, this organ 
should be washed out with a half teaspoon- 
ful of carbolic acid in a quart of water. It 
is also desirable to pass the finger, well 
pared and oiled, into the orifice, so as to be 
certain that there is no obstruction there; 
for if so, the whole process may have to be 
gone over again. This done, the incision 
must be sewed up, and for this a small bent 
needle is best, as by it the skin can be most 
easily gathered together, and silk used — 
not thread. Sew the inner skin first and 
then the outer one. Do not sew in the usual 
way, but pass the needle through, cut the 
threads of silk, and tie the ends of silk to- 

3^8 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

gether. Before making the incision, pull off 
the feathers, so as to have a clean skin to 
work on. When finished, smear on a little 
tar to prevent fly blowing. No water must 
be supplied until the suture has completely 
healed up. For a time it is advisable to 
keep strict watch on a fowl that has been 
crop bound, as there will be a tendency to 
a recurrence of it. 



EYE TROUBLES 

Conjunctivitis, — A catarrhal inflammation 
of the mucous membrane of the eye. Caused 
by cold, exposure, bad hygiene, injuries, or 
maybe extension of inflammation of nasal 
passages. Symptoms are gumming together 
of eyelids, discharge of fluid from the eye, 
and swelling of face about the eye. May 
occur on one side of head only, or on both. 
Swelling sometimes out of all proportion to 
apparent inflammation. Purulent cases may 
result in keratitis. 

329 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Treatment, — Conjunctivitis usually yields 
to daily bathing with hydrogen dioxide one 
part, in two parts cold water. Ten drops 
of tincture euphrasia in each pint of drink- 
ing water often proves eflficient. 

Even hopeless cases should receive treat- 
ment if the fowl is to be allowed to live, 
since if the case is neglected, the other eye 
may suffer also. As in most of these eye 
cases there is an ulcerative condition of the 
mucous membrane of the nasal tract, the 
nose should come in for its share of cleans- 
ing. After cleansing nose, it will be well to 
inject into it the iodoform. 



AN OLD AND TRIED CURE FOR GAPES 

Gapes is easily prevented by cleanliness, 
but so far we have found no trouble in cur- 
ing it by the following method: Shut up 
the sick chicks in a soap box. Pour in a 
little tar and spirits of turpentine mixed, on 
^,n oyster shell, set it on fire, and let the 

330 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

smoke fill the box completely. The chicks 
may be nearly suffocated to advantage, but 
be careful not to go to an extreme. Now 
take them out, and five minutes afterwards 
give each chick a mouthful of corn-meal 
dough, to which spirits of turpentine has 
been added in proportion of a teaspoonful 
of turpentine to half a pint of corn meal. 
The smoke of the tar and turpentine is 
harmless, and it is also excellent for roup, 
colds, and debility. There is a notion among 
some that they must remove what they call 
the '*pip" from the end of the bill of each 
young chick, which is useless and unneces- 
sary; and red pepper is often given when 
there is no occasion for doing so. 



331 



CHAPTER XV 

VEGETABLES FOR TABLE AND HEALTH 
SQUASH CUTLETS 

SELECT a young squash, peel it, cut it 
into slices about half an inch thick, fry in 
butter until tender. Pour parsley and butter 
sauce over it. For breakfast it is always ap- 
preciated. 

Green tomatoes and cucumbers are also 
appropriate for frying, but they must be 
really green. After they commence to turn, 
a pungent, bitter taste develops that is most 
disagreeable. 

IRISH STEW 

Peel potatoes, ripe tomatoes, and onions ; 
cut into quarters; half fill a four-quart 
saucepan with alternate layers; scatter half 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

a teaspoonful of salt and pepper between 
each. Just cover with cold water and cook 
for one hour. 

MOCK DUCK 

Large marrow or white squash, whole, un- 
skinned. Put it in boiling water, cook half 
an hour; when cool, skin it. If a marrow, 
cut off three inches to the end; if a white 
squash, knife out a circle about three inches 
in diameter round the stalk. In either case, 
scoop out all the seeds and fibre. 

Make a dressing by mixing a pint of 
grated bread crumbs, three onions chopped 
fine, a tablespoonful of dried sage leaves 
rubbed fine, a teaspoonful of dried mus- 
tard, two ounces of butter cut into small 
pieces, half a teaspoonful of salt; moisten 
with a beaten egg. Replace the small piece 
you cut out, put it in a dripping pan, and 
bake for two hours, using bacon or salt pork 
dripping to baste with. 

The brown gravy to go over will come 
333 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

from a sliced onion fried golden brown in 
butter. Add a tablespoonful of flour, brown, 
salt and pepper to taste, pour in boiling 
water until you have a sufficient quantity, 
stirring all the time. 

Place the duck on a hot dish, strain the 
gravy over it. Serve with apple sauce, 
mashed potatoes, mashed turnips. 



FURMITY 

If you are near a farm where wheat is 
being thrashed, try an old English dish 
called "furmity," which is a delicious con- 
coction farmers in Lincolnshire make for 
the harvest feasts, and is composed of new 
wheat principally. The receipt for the lux- 
ury is as follows : — 

Ten quarts of new wheat put in twenty 
quarts of water and stewed until quite soft, 
but whole. Add more boiling water as it 
cooks, if necessary. It should be like stiff 
oatmeal porridge when taken from the stove. 

334 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

Let it stand until the next day; then add 
two pounds of the best beef suet, chopped 
until it is as fine as stale bread crumbs; stir 
into the cold wheat, adding two pounds of 
stoneless raisins and two pounds of currants 
washed and dried, two pounds of the best 
brown sugar, a quarter of a pound each of 
candied citron and orange peel chopped fine, 
ounce of pudding spice, and, unless you ob- 
ject, half a pint of brandy. When all is 
thoroughly mixed, add six quarts of new 
milk, and simmer for four or five hours. 
Remove, let it stand until the next day, and 
serve with thick cream. Care must be taken 
not to let it burn. 

We make half the quantity at a time, 
using a large brown stone jar with a lid, 
which is placed in a round boiler half filled 
with boiling water. 

OKRA 

A savory dish for lunch or dinner is made 
in the following manner: Butter a pud- 

335 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

ding dish, put a layer of cooked or half- 
cooked rice, a layer of sliced okra, a layer of 
ripe sliced tomatoes, butter, pepper, salt, 
and a little sugar if the acid of the tomatoes 
be objectionable. Repeat the layers until the 
dish is filled. Grate bread crumbs on top, 
with pieces of butter; pour in as much boil- 
ing water as the dish will hold; bake long 
enough to cook; serve hot. 

Okra soup any cook-book will give you. 

POT-CHEESE 

The pans of sour milk can be converted 
into pot-cheese by being placed near the stove 
until whey starts and covers the top; then 
poured into a cheese-cloth and hung up to 
drip for twenty-four hours. Then turn it 
out, break up with a fork, sprinkle with salt, 
and beat a little fresh cream through it if 
it is for table use. Naturally, omit the cream 
if for your chickens. 

A Swede taught me another way to use 
336 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

the curds, which we like extremely. Put 
about two quarts into a small bag, and let 
it hang in a dry, cool place for four or five 
days until quite dry. Then take it out and 
grate finely; add half a pound of currants, 
half a cup of sugar, and three beaten eggs, 
and fry like batter-cakes, only much thicker. 



SAVORY POT-CHEESE 

If the milk has soured rapidly into a thick 
clabber, it may be put at once into a cheese- 
cloth bag and hung to drip until every bit of 
whey has run out. If not so thick, turn 
boiling water from the tea-kettle into the pan 
of sour milk and let it stand for a few mo- 
ments for the curds and whey to separate. 
As soon as this is accomplished, put into 
the bag to drip. When the whey has been 
disposed of, turn the curd into a basin and 
add butter, salt, and cream, sweet or sour, to 
make rather moist and of good flavor. Add 
paprika, black pepper, minced sweet green 
^ 337 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

pepper, or fine-cut pepper grass, as you like. 
Then mould on crisp, green lettuce leaves, 
or make into tiny soft balls no larger than 
English walnuts. Never fall into the mistake 
of making these balls big, round, and hard, 
like the pot-cheese of commerce, which is 
dry, crumbly, and suggestive of overmuch 
handling. 

POTATO CHEESE-CAKES 

Pound well together three ounces of 
boiled mealy potato, two ounces of melted 
butter, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and the 
grated yellow rind of two lemons. Stir 
until smooth, then add the yolks of two eggs 
and the white of one, well beaten. Line 
some patty pans with puff paste, fill them 
and bake twenty minutes in a good oven. 

CURD CHEESE-CAKES 

Boil one pint of milk, and add it gradually 
to three well-beaten eggs. Let it simmer 
until the milk curdles; then pour off the 

338 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

whey and allow the curd to drain a little 
over a sieve. Then beat it up with a fork, 
add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a pinch of 
salt, four ounces of currants (cleaned and 
dried), one ounce of melted butter, and a 
little mixed spice. Mix well. Line patty 
pans with puff paste; fill three parts with 
the curd mixture and bake in a good oven. 
A very old-fashioned sweet. 



HOWELL HONEY-CAKE 

It is a hard cake. 

Take 6 lb. flour, 3 lb. honey, 1| lb. sugar, 
IJ lb. butter, 6 eggs, J oz. saleratus, ginger 
to your taste. Directions for mixing: Have 
the flour in a pan or tray. Pack a cavity in 
the centre. Beat the honey and yolks of 
eggs together well. Beat the butter and 
sugar to cream, and put into the cavity in 
the flour; then add the honey and yolks of 
eggs. Mix well with the hand, adding a 
little at a time during the mixing, the | oz. 

339 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

saleratus dissolved in boiling water until it 
is all in. Add the ginger, and finally add 
the whites of the 6 eggs, well beaten. Mix 
well with the hand to a smooth dough. Divide 
the dough into seven equal parts, and roll 
out like gingerbread. Bake in ordinary 
square pans made for pies from 10 x 14 
tin. After putting into the pans, mark 
off the top in J-inch strips with something 
sharp. Bake an hour in a moderate oven. 
Be careful not to burn, but bake well. Dis- 
solve sugar to glaze over top of cake. To 
keep the cake, stand on end in an oak tub, 
tin can, or stone crock — crock is the best. 
Stand the cards up so the flat sides will not 
touch each other. Cover tight. Keep in a 
cool, dry place. Don't use until three months 
old at least. The cake improves with age, 
and will keep good as long as you will let it. 
I find any cake sweetened with honey does 
not dry out like sugar or molasses cake, and 
age improves or develops the honey flavor. 

— E. D. Howell. 
340 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

HONEY APPLE-BUTTER 

1 gallon good cooking apples, 1 quart 
honey, 1 quart honey vinegar, 1 heaping 
teaspoonful ground cinnamon. Cook several 
hours, stirring often to prevent burning. If 
the vinegar is very strong, use part water. 
— Mrs. R. C. Aiken. 

summer honey-drink 

1 spoonful fruit juice and 1 spoonful honey, 
in § glass water; stir in as much soda as 
will lie on a silver dime, and then stir in half 
as much tartaric acid, and drink at once. 

GENERALITIES 

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, con- 
sidered cabbage one of the most valuable of 
remedies. Erastratus deemed it a valuable 
remedy against paralysis. Cato, in his writ- 
ings, claimed it to be a panacea for all dis- 
eases, and believed its use made it possible 

341 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

for the Romans to do without the use of 
physicians for six hundred years, they hav- 
ing expelled them from their country for 
that length of time. M. Chevreul, a former 
scientist, says the odor caused by the boil- 
ing of cabbage is due to the liberation of 
sulphuretted hydrogen. Cabbage can be 
cooked so that this principle will not be 
liberated and will remain as an aid to its 
digestion. If put on in salted boiling water 
and allowed to simmer, never boil, from 
one-half to three-quarters of a hour, drained, 
and served either with melted butter or cream 
sauce poured over it, even those of weak di- 
gestion can indulge in its use. 

The onion is of special value to the coun- 
try family far removed from doctor or drug 
store. Nothing alleviates croup more quickly 
than a poultice of onions fried in goose greese ; 
or if that is wanting, any fat. Fill a bag 
large enough to fit up round the throat and 
reach to the pit of the stomach. Use as hot 
as can be borne. If the poultice is made 

342 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

about two inches thick, it will retain the 
heat for some thirty or forty minutes, during 
which time another should be made to take 
its place. It is a good plan to place two or 
three folds of flannel between the patient and 
the poultice, for then it can be applied whilst 
very hot, pieces of flannel being slipped aside 
as the heat moderates. The effect is sooth- 
ing, alleviating the pain and lulling the pa- 
tient to sleep. In extremely severe cases, 
when the child seems in danger of choking, 
grate a large onion, mix one teaspoonful of 
the juice with a little sugar, and pour down 
the child's throat. I once saved a baby of 
two years old, after the doctor had given up 
all hope, with this household remedy. 

The juice of a roasted onion will cure a 
bee or wasp sting as by magic. The heart of 
a roasted onion will work the same relief for 
earache. Eating a raw onion at night stimu- 
lates the secretions and purifies the blood. 

Celery contains an aromatic oil, sugar, 
mucilage, starch, and manna sugar. The 

343 



A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 

daily moderate use of celery is said to 
remove nervousness and even palpitation 
of the heart. For rheumatism and kidney 
troubles it is considered excellent. Those 
having weak digestion should eat celery 
cooked, as the fibre of celery makes it difl&- 
cult of digestion. 

Rhubarb should be eaten as a matter of 
duty, for it is one of nature's pleasantest 
remedies, counteracting the ill effects of 
heavy winter diet. 

Water-cress is a splendid tonic, and the 
country home should manage to have a plen- 
tiful supply. 

Asparagus and lettuce are so universally 
liked that the family are sure to eat quanti- 
ties without regard to the medical qualities, 
which are many and varied. 



344 



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